UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA     AGRICULTURAL   EXPERIMENT  STATION 
COLLEGE   OF  AGRICULTURE  BENJ'  '"  WHEELER-  •—•• «nt 

THOMAS    FORSYTH    HUNT,    DEANAND  DIRECTOR 

BERKELEY  h.  e.  van  norman,  vice-director  and  dean 

University  Farm  School 

CIRCULAR  No.  210 
March,  1919 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE   SETTLER 
IN   CALIFORNIA 

BY 

THOMAS   FORSYTH    HUNT 

AND   OTHER   MEMBERS   OF  THE   STAFF 


In  the  selection  of  a  farm  perhaps  the  most  important  question  is 
the  gross  income  that  may  be  expected.  If  the  farm  is  a  going  concern 
the  seller  should  be  required  to  furnish  a  statement  of  sales  covering 
the  preceding  five  years.  In  California  the  area  of  the  farm  is  not 
significant.  Size  should  be  thought  of  only  in  relation  to  financial 
returns.  A  barley  farm,  under  biennial  cropping,  may  need  to  con- 
tain four  hundred  acres  in  order  to  yield  a  gross  return  of  $4000, 
while  a  lemon  grove  of  ten  acres  may  bring  in  the  same  amount  of 
money.  It  is  true  that  the  net  profit  may  not  be  the  same  in  both 
cases,  but  nevertheless  as  a  rough  and  ready  means  of  determining 
whether  the  farm  examined  will  be  suitable,  the  gross  income  is  per- 
haps the  most  important  indicator  that  it  is  practicable  to  obtain.  If 
the  land  has  never  yielded  a  return  or  is  to  be  put  to  some  new  use 
which  will  produce  a  different  income,  then  the  vital  question  is, 
when  will  the  new  return  begin.  If  three  years  must  elapse  before 
any  income  may  be  expected,  then  the  investment  must  be  discounted 
in  just  the  same  way  as  stocks  and  bonds  are  discounted  when  dividend 
or  interest  is  passed  for  three  years. 

If  the  gross  income  must  be  estimated  it  may  be  done  by  obtaining 
the  average  yield  and  average  price  for  the  principal  California  crops 
through  a  series  of  years  from  the  Year  Book  published  annually  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Under  present  con- 
ditions an  average  of  not  less  than  ten  years  should  be  taken.  This 
having  been  determined,  some  estimate  must  be  sought  from  some 
unbiased  person  as  to  the  relative  adaptability  of  the  land  in  question 
as  compared  with  the  average  of  the  state  (page  18).  The  new  settler 
may  be  much  perplexed  because  the  average  covering  a  series  of  years 


is  less  than  that  given  in  statements  concerning  known  yields  of  the 
land  in  question.  It  may  help  to  clear  up  this  perplexity  to  state  that 
it  is  a  safe  business  rule  to  assume  that  the  average  yield  of  a  piece 
of  land  over  a  series  of  years  may  be  40  per  cent  of  the  best  known 
yield. 

EXPECTED  YIELDS 

In  order  to  assist  a  new  settler  in  California,  a  table  has  been 
prepared,  from  such  data  as  are  available,  showing  the  yields  that  may 
be  expected  when  the  crop  is  grown  by  a  competent  man  in  a  location 
adapted  to  it.  The  figures  given  below  may  be  said  to  represent  the 
best  judgment  of  those  who,  through  actual  experience  and  observa- 
tion, are  competent  to  judge.    The  figures  are  in  no  sense  official. 

Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  placed  upon  the  fact  that  the  figures 
given  in  the  table  opposite  are  intended  to  apply  to  average  land  and 
not  to  the  best  land  adapted  to  any  particular  crop.  There  are  large 
areas  in  California  where  five  tons  of  alfalfa  per  annum  may  be 
deemed  a  safe  estimate  and  where  competent  men  would  not  under- 
take to  raise  alfalfa  if  they  did  not  expect  six  tons  per  acre.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  are  some  areas  where  much  smaller  yields  may 
be  considered  satisfactory. 

The  chief  purpose  of  this  table  is  to  emphasize  the  teaching  that 
the  large  yields  which  are  obtained  under  very  favorable  conditions 
are  not  a  true  business  guide.  It  is  necessary  to  recognize  that  only 
fractions  of  such  possible  yields  are  obtained  ordinarily  in  actual 
practice.  Our  purpose  is  not  to  try  to  state  what  yield  may  be 
obtained  under  each  given  condition  of  soil  and  climate,  but  to  give 
a  sort  of  working  basis  for  reasonable  estimation.  Thus  if  in  a  given 
region,  on  a  particular  type  of  soil,  one  determines  that  it  has  been 
found  possible  to  get  a  yield  of  thirteen  tons  of  alfalfa  per  acre,  5.2 
tons  of  alfalfa  would  be  a  safe  estimate  for  business  purposes  on  the 
basis  above  stated.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  eight  tons  were  found  to  be 
an  extraordinary  yield,  then  3.2  tons  are  all  that  could  be  safely 
expected  as  an  average.  However,  it  must  always  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  competent  man  may  hope  to  secure  better  yields.  The  second 
and  third  columns  in  the  following  table  are  the  ones  to  which  the 
reader  should  give  his  chief  attention. 

SOCIAL  CONTACT 

The  next  most  important  question,  and  perhaps  this  one  should 
have  been  put  first,  is  whether  the  wife  and  family  will  be  contented 
in  the  location  contemplated.     Climate  consists   of  something  more 


Average,  Probable,  and  Possible,  Yields' 


Average 

yield 
per  acre 

Wheat,    bu 16 

Oats,  bu 34 

Barley,    bu 28 

Potatoes,    bu 130 

Alfalfa,    ton    3.5 

Grain  hay,  ton  1.25 

Cotton,  Durango,  lb 300 

Eice,  rough,  lb 2000 

Hops,   lb 1500 

Beans,  field,  lb 1100 

Onions,   sack   100 

Sugar  beets,  ton  9 

Butter  fat,  per  cow,  lb...  150 

Oranges,    box    150 

Lemons,  box  175 

Eaisins,    Muscat,    ton ....  0.75 

Eaisins,    Seedless,    ton ..  0.75 

Grapes,  shipping,  ton 3.0 

Grapes,  interior,  wine, 

ton    3.0 

Grapes,  Coast,  wine,  ton  2.0 

Olives,  ton  1.0 

Walnuts,  ton  0.4 

Almonds,    ton    0.4 

Prunes,   dried,  ton 1.25 

Plums,  shipping,  crate....  250 

Apricots,   dried,   ton   0.75 

Apricots,  shipping,  crate  250 

Pears,   ton    4.0 

Peaches,    dried,    ton 0.75 

Peaches,  shipping,  box....  300 

Apples,  box  200 

Cherries,  ton  1.25 


A  safe 
estimate 

for 
business 
purposes 

A  good  yield 
which  com- 
petent men 
may  hope  to 
obtain 

Yield  not 
infrequently 
obtained 
under  favor- 
able conditions 

Possible 
but  extra- 
ordinary 
yield 

20 

25 

40 

50 

45 

60 

90 

120 

40 

50 

75 

100 

175 

200 

300 

500 

5.0 

6.0 

9.0 

12.0 

1.75 

2.0 

3.0 

4.0 

400 

500 

800 

1200 

2500 

3500 

4500 

6000 

1800 

2200 

3000 

8000 

1200 

1400 

2500 

3000 

150 

250 

300 

400 

13 

18 

25 

30 

225 

300 

350 

400 

225 

300 

450 

600 

250 

350 

450 

600 

1.0 

1.25 

1.5 

2.0 

1.25 

1.5 

2.0 

3.0 

5.0 

7.0 

10.0 

15.0 

5.0 

7.0 

10.0 

15.0 

3.0 

5.0 

7.0 

10.0 

1.50 

2.0 

3.0 

5.0 

0.5 

.75 

1.0 

1.5 

0.5 

.75 

1.0 

1.25 

1.75 

2.5 

3.0 

5.0 

350 

450 

650 

850 

1.0 

1.25 

1.75 

2.5 

350 

450 

650 

850 

5.0 

7.0 

10.0 

12.0 

1.0 

1.5 

2.0 

3.0 

400 

600 

800 

1000 

300 

500 

900 

1200 

2.0 

2.5 

5.0 

8.0 

barley,  50 ; 

corn,  52 ;  oats, 

32 ;  and  wheat, 

60. 

uniform  nor  standardized. 

The  variation  i 

is  due  to  the 

fullness  of  the  sacks  and  the  volume  weight  of  the  grain. 

Good  plump  barley  110-115  pounds  per  sack. 

Second  class  barley  100  pounds  per  sack. 

Heavy  extra  wheat  125-150  pounds  per  sack. 

Average  wheat  120-135  pounds  per  sack. 

Heavy  oats  in  barley  sacks  100  pounds  per  sack. 

Light  oats  in  barley  sacks  85-  90  pounds  per  sack. 

Oats  in  regular  oat  sacks,  about  125  pounds  per  sack. 

Beans   80-100  pounds  per  sack. 

Potatoes   110-120  pounds  per  sack. 


than  temperature  and  rainfall.  Humi'dity,  wind,  dust,  fog,  mud,  and 
mosquitoes  are  factors  to  which  human  beings  are  extremely  sensitive. 
In  California,  perhaps,  in  greater  degree  than  in  most  other  states 
certain  agricultural  industries  have  been  chiefly  carried  on  by  certain 
races  of  people.  It  is,  therefore,  the  part  of  wisdom  to  look  into  all 
such  matters  carefully.  With  electric  power,  automobiles,  telephone, 
and  free  rural  delivery,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  California  in  making 
a  farm  home  comfortable  and  attractive.  Examples  are  found  on 
every  hand. 

Social  contacts  are  necessary,  not  only  to  happiness  but  also  to 
right  living,  all  of  which  can  generally  be  worked  out  satisfactorily. 
The  point  is  that  unless  some  thought  is  given  in  advance  to  these 
questions,  disappointments  may  occur.  If  the  would-be  purchaser  is 
satisfied  with  the  gross  income  the  farm  will  produce,  and  his  wife  is 
satisfied  with  the  social  contacts  she  will  be  able  to  make,  two  impor- 
tant desiderata  are  achieved. 

CAPITAL 

Perhaps  the  next  question  to  settle  is  the  size  of  the  investment. 
In  pre-war  times  the  gross  income  per  annum  from  the  farms  of  the 
United  States  was  approximately  one-sixth  of  the  capital  invested. 
As  the  gross  income  increased  in  money  value,  as  it  had  over  a  series 
of  years,  the  capitalization  of  the  farms  was  increased  in  approxi- 
mately the  same  proportion.  Both  go  up  or  down  somewhat  auto- 
matically, although  not  necessarily  quite  concurrently. 

A  competent  farmer  should  expect,  and  no  one  should  undertake 
to  farm  unless  he  may  reasonably  expect,  to  produce  50  per  cent 
more  than  the  average.  On  this  basis,  the  gross  income  per  annum 
may  be  estimated  at  25  per  cent  of  the  capital  invested.  A  gross 
income  of  $4000  would  require,  therefore,  an  investment  of  $16,000. 
This  does  not  mean  that  every  legitimate  farm  enterprise  will,  or 
should  bring  in  just  25  per  cent  of  the  capital  invested.  This  state- 
ment is  only  meant  to  give  one  a  ' '  yard  stick ' '  with  which  to  measure 
any  definite  farming  enterprise.  The  reasoning  here  is  similar  to 
that  used  relative  to  other  investments.  If  it  be  accepted  that  5  per 
cent  is  a  legitimate  interest  on  good  securities,  it  does  not  mean  that 
6  per  cent  may  not  be  obtained  with  safety,  nor  that  if  there  are  some 
unusual  provision,  as  for  example,  tax  exemptions,  one  may  not  be 
satisfied  with  4  per  cent  interest.  Nevertheless,  one  knows  almost 
instinctively  that  if  the  interest  is  below  4  per  cent  or  above  6  per  cent, 
there  is  something  about  the  securities  that  is  not  quite  normal.     The 


condition  is  the  same  with  regard  to  farming,  except  that  the  latter 
is  subject  to  much  greater  fluctuations  than  many  other  enterprises.  If 
for  example,  the  farm  is  only  returning  a  gross  income  of  10  per  cent 
or  is  claiming  to  return  a  gross  income  of  50  per  cent  on  the  invest- 
ment, it  becomes  apparent  that  a  very  careful  analysis  of  the  reasons 
for  the  facts  must  be  made  before  purchasing. 

FAEM  INVESTMENTS  IN  CALIFORNIA 

The  average  California  farm  investment  in  pre-war  times  was,  in 
round  numbers,  for  land  and  buildings,  $16,500,  for  livestock  $1500, 
and  for  farm  machinery  $400,  making  a  total  investment  of  $18,400. 
The  investment  in  land  and  buildings  in  California  farms  under  20 
acres  in  area  was  in  1910  about  $6000 ;  for  farms  between  20  and  49 
acres  about  $9000 ;  for  farms  between  50  and  174  acres  about  $14,000 ; 
for  farms  between  175  and  999  acres  about  $25,000,  and  for  farms 
over  1000  acres  about  $80,000. 

In  California  farms  are  operated  in  three  ways: 

1.  By  the  owner, 

2.  By  renter,  or 

3.  By  manager. 

The  investment  in  rented  farms  is  larger  than  that  in  farms  operated 
by  the  owner,  because  the  former  must  not  only  yield  a  living  to  the 
lessee  if  possible,  but  in  addition  at  least  a  part  of  a  living  to  the 
owner. 

In  i910  farms  in  California  operated  by  owners  averaged  227 
acres ;  those  operated  by  renters  342  acres.  A  certain  sized  farm 
devoted  to  a  given  industry  may  produce  a  satisfactory  income  for 
one  family  and  yet  the  income  may  not  be  sufficient  to  pay  in  addition 
the  interest  and  reduce  the  principal  on  a  large  mortgage.  One  may 
say  that  it  is  not  good  business  if  the  income  does  not  produce  a  good 
living  plus  surplus  for  reducing  capital,  but  the  fact  is  that  many 
farms  are  capitalized  only  on  the  basis  of  a  satisfactory  living.  One 
of  the  difficulties  in  making  enough  out  of  a  farm  to  pay  interest  and 
reduce  principal  in  addition  to  making  a  satisfactory  living,  is  that 
in  such  cases  one  must  compete  with  other  farmers  in  the  United 
States  who  carry  no  encumbrances  and  are  content  with  a  living. 

One  reason  why  renting  is,  on  an  average,  less  satisfactory  than 
farm  ownership  in  America  is  that  the  lessee  must  compete  with 
three  other  men  who  own  their  land.  In  England  where  perhaps 
95  per  cent  of  all  the  actual  farmers  are  renters,  tenant  farming  is 
a  more  satisfactory  business.     Laws  and  customs  have  also  thrown 


safeguards  around  the  renter  in  European  countries  which  are  not 
found  here. 

Prior  to  the  war  the  average  farm-owning  farmer  in  California 
operated  a  farm  worth  $12,000.  This  farm  carried  on  an  average 
an  indebtedness  of  $3000,  making  the  farm  owner's  equity  $9000. 
From  the  above  data  and  taking  into  account  the  changed  conditions 
due  to  the  war,  it  would  seem  that  an  investment  or  a  credit  of  less 
than  $10,000  can  hardly  be  expected  to  return  such  an  income  as  will 
enable  a  farmer  to  raise  and  educate  a  self-respecting  family.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  would  appear  that  an  investment  of  $20,000  wisely 
made,  will  give  ample  opportunity  for  the  development  of  an  attrac- 
tive enterprise. 

Land  settlement  plans,  such  as  those  of  the  State  Colony  at  Dur- 
ham, are  based  on  such  general  considerations  as  those  just  stated. 
Tracts  are  divided  into  sizes  which  sell,  unimproved,  for  amounts  not 
exceeding  $15,000.  It  is  estimated  that  the  buildings  may  cost  $3000, 
while  the  investment  in  horses,  implements,  and  tools  for  operation 
is  estimated  at  $2000,  making  a  total  investment  of  $20,000.  However, 
by  specialization,  such  as  breeding  of  improved  livestock,  or  by  plant- 
ing orchards  or  vineyards,  the  capitalization  and,  therefore,  the  gross 
income  may  be  increased. 

HOW  CAPITAL  IS  OBTAINED 

Everyone  is  born  into  the  world  without  capital.  Few  young  men 
of  21  have  a  capital  of  $10,000,  much  less  $20,000.  There  was  a  time, 
not  long  ago,  when  the  normal  process  of  becoming  a  farmer  was  to 
homestead  a  piece  of  government  land.  Theoretically  it  is  still  an 
available  process,  but  practically  it  is  non-existent.  Following  the 
homesteading  era,  came  the  process  of  leasing  followed  by  subsequent 
purchase ;  not,  however,  necessarily  of  the  same  land.  Next  to  partial 
or  complete  inheritance,  this  is  still  the  normal  and  usual  process. 

For  social  as  well  as  economic  reasons  leasing  is  not  looked  upon 
favorably.  From  the  standpoint  of  national  welfare  it  is  desirable  to 
find  some  more  satisfactory  plan.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  better  to  be 
a  large  renter  than  a  small  land  holder.  It  may  also  be  a  good 
method  for  a  young  man  with  small  capital  to  determine  what  it  is 
possible  for  him  to  do  as  well  as  to  earn  the  necessary  capital  for  the 
purchase  of  a  farm.  The  data  already  submitted  show  that  before 
the  war  the  investment  in  floating  capital,  livestock,  machinery,  and 
implements  was  on  an  average  less  than  $2000  per  farm.  Therefore, 
a  man  could  establish  himself  as  a  renter  at  an  investment  of  $2000. 


It  would  cost  somewhat  more  than  this  sum  now,  but  the  amount 
would  probably  not  be  greatly  increased  since  a  considerable  part  of 
this  investment  is  in  horses  and  mules,  which  have  not  increased 
in  price. 

FEDERAL  FARM  LOANS 

The  recent  Farm  Loan  Act,  which  is  now  fully  operative,  furnishes 
the  means  of  obtaining  half  the  capital  necessary  to  purchase  a  tract 
of  land.  The  Farm  Loan  Act  provides  that  loans  may  be  made  on 
real  estate  to  the  extent  of  50  per  cent  of  the  appraised  value,  at  such 
a  rate  that  by  paying  8  per  cent  per  year  the  principal  including 
interest  upon  this  half  of  the  investment  will  be  paid  in  full  in 
twenty  years.  The  purchaser  will  find  that  borrowing  money  through 
this  agency  not  only  gives  him  a  low  interest  rate  but  also  is  a  helpful 
means  of  determining  the  value  of  the  land,  since  if  the  government 
appraiser  will  not  loan  to  one-half  the  proposed  purchase  price  it  may 
not  be  wise  to  make  the  deal.  If  a  man  has  $10,000  he  may  purchase 
a  farm  worth  $16,000  by  obtaining  a  federal  farm  loan  of  $8000.  The 
purchaser  will  have  left  $2000  for  procuring  teams,  implements  and 
for  living  expenses.  The  loan  can  be  canceled  by  paying  $320  semi- 
annually for  twenty  years.1 

LAND  SETTLEMENT 

The  Land  Settlement  plan  in  this  state  provides  that  farm 
allotments  may  be  sold  having  a  value,  without  improvements,  not 
exceeding  $15,000.  In  the  State  Colony  at  Durham,  the  actual  con- 
tracts for  unimproved  land  involve  amounts  which  range  generally 
from  $7,000  to  $11,000,  although  a  few  contracts  were  made  involving 
amounts  under  $5000  and  several  ranged  in  value  between  $14,000  and 
$15,000.  Without  regard  to  the  amount  involved  in  the  contract  the 
settler  was  not  regarded  eligible  unless  he  had  $1500,  or  a  working 
equipment  of  implements  or  livestock  which  is  the  equivalent  of  such 
capital.  Settlers  were  advised,  however,  that  $2500  to  $3000  was  a 
better  sum  for  those  contemplating  a  contract  involving  $10,000  or 
more  for  unimproved  land. 

The  following  is  an  illustration  of  how  the  financing  is  done  under 
the  Land  Settlement  plan.  A  certain  allotment  holder  with  a  capital 
of  $5000  received  a  farm  for  which  he  contracted  to  pay  $9996  for  the 
unimproved  land  and  $1350  for  certain  improvements.  He  made  a 
deposit  of  $500  on  the  land  and  $540  on  the  improvements  and  had 


i  For  further  information  concerning  federal  farm  loans  address  District  Fed- 
eral Farm  Loan  Bank,  Berkeley,  California. 


8 

left  for  the  development  of  his  enterprise  $3960.  His  half-yearly 
payment  on  the  land  for  twenty  years  will  be  $379.84  and  his  half- 
yearly  payment  on  the  improvements  for  a  similar  period  will  be 
$32.40,  making  the  total  payment  each  year  $824.48.2 

TYPE  OF  FAEM 

No  state  in  the  Union  grows  commercially  so  large  a  variety  of 
crops  as  does  California.  Every  domestic  animal  raised  elsewhere  in 
this  country  has  been  developed  to  great  perfection  also  in  this  state. 
This  great  choice  of  crops  and  of  breeds  of  animals  often  leads  the 
new  settler  into  error.  The  correct  choice  of  crops  and  animals  under 
the  great  variety  of  climatic  conditions,  together  with  the  differences 
in  transportation  and  marketing,  require  careful  inquiry.  Few  state- 
ments can  be  made  in  this  regard  that  do  not  have  so  many  exceptions 
as  to  make  them  almost  valueless.  Yet  few  things  are  of  more  im- 
portance than  the  right  adaptation  of  crops  and  animals  to  their 
environment.  Or  to  put  it  in  another  way,  if  a  man  desires  to  raise 
a  certain  crop  or  class  or  crops,  or  a  certain  kind  or  breed  of  animals, 
nothing  can  be  more  important  than  that  he  should  select  land  suited 
in  area  and  naturally  adapted  to  the  particular  line  of  farming  he 
desires  to  follow. 

However,  this  general  statement  may  be  hazarded  now:  Covering 
a  period  of  years  the  products  sold  from  a  California  farm  should 
bring  more  than  5  cents  a  pound  or  else  should  contain  a  high  per- 
centage of  water.  Illustrations  of  products  selling  for  more  than 
5  cents  per  pound  are  dried  fruits,  horses,  beef,  mutton,  pork,  butter, 
cheese,  poultry,  eggs,  wool,  cotton,  sugar,  nuts,  vegetables,  and  flower 
seeds.  Examples  of  products  containing  high  percentages  of  water 
are  milk,  fresh  fruits,  sugar  beets,  melons,  tomatoes,  potatoes,  and  a 
great  variety  of  vegetables  not  mentioned. 

There  are  certain  exceptions  to  the  above  general  statement. 
While  there  is  an  unusual  demand  in  Europe,  wheat  may  be  a  profit- 
able crop.  Doubtless  some  of  this  staple  product  will  enter  into  the 
farm  scheme  on  certain  California  farms.  Beans,  on  account  of  their 
ability  to  supply  themselves  with  nitrogen  and  even  increase  the  nitro- 
gen content  of  the  soil  for  other  crops,  are  another  possible  exception. 
It  is  highly  probable,  however,  that  if  the  price  goes  below  5  cents  the 
production  of  even  this  important  crop  will  be  greatly  restricted.  It 
may  also  be  doubted  whether  there  are  many  areas  in  California  where 
a  farmer  would  find  it  wise  to  make  beans  a  specialty  if  beans  were 

2  For  information  regarding  State  Colony  lands  address  State  Land  Settlement 
Board,  University  of  California,  Berkeley,  Calif. 


to  sell  below  5  cents  a  pound  through  a  series  of  years.  This  comment 
is,  of  course,  made  for  the  guidance  of  the  new  settler.  It  has  no 
necessary  significance  to  the  man  who  has  long  made  this  crop  his 
specialty.  In  the  long  run,  the  man  who  can  arrange  his  farming  to 
avoid  selling  low-priced  products,  unless  they  contain  high  percentages 
of  water,  will  be  the  one  who  will  longest  maintain  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  and  will  have  the  least  marketing  difficulties. 

Where  crops  like  potatoes,  onions,  fresh  fruits,  and  melons  are  not 
to  be  sold  in  local  markets,  care  must  be  taken  to  determine  not  only 
the  adaptability  of  a  given  soil  and  climate  but  whether  or  not  other 
areas  equally  suitable  possess  a  lower  freight  rate  to  competing  mar- 
kets. Thus  there  are  several  areas  in  northern  California  especially 
adapted  to  raising  fine  potatoes  which  can  not  compete  with  other 
areas  nearer  the  city  in  supplying  the  San  Francisco  market  because 
of  the  cost  of  transportation.  On  the  other  hand,  the  development 
of  the  system  of  carload  shipments  to  eastern  markets  may  some  day 
make  potato  growing  in  such  regions  especially  attractive. 

There  are  certain  parts  of  California,  well  adapted  to  dairying, 
where  the  production  of  cheese  has  been  developed  in  place  of  butter 
or  market  milk  production  because  of  the  conditions  surrounding 
transportation.  Of  course,  this  does  not  mean  that  a  farmer  should 
not  raise  low-priced  products,  such  as  hay  and  grain,  but  that  so  far 
as  practicable  he  should  manage  to  convert  them  into  animal  products 
which  will  sell  for  higher  prices  per  pound. 

LOCATION 

A  good  deal  has  been  accomplished  in  determining  the  best  location 
in  California  for  different  types  of  farming  through  the  experience 
of  one  or  two  generations  of  farmers.  Certain  locations  have  not  yet 
been  developed  for  lack  of  suitable  transportation,  inability  to  secure 
water  for  irrigation,  or  because  the  land  has  been  held  in  uneconomic 
units.  In  general,  however,  one  will  do  well  to  be  guided  by  the 
present  developments  of  the  several  farming  industries.  In  any  case, 
the  best  developed  regions  for  any  particular  industry  should  be 
visited  and  carefully  studied,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  under- 
stand the  kind  of  competition  one  must  meet  when  he  places  his 
products  upon  the  market. 

Farming  is  a  competitive  business.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to 
determine  not  only  whether  a  given  crop  can  be  grown  in  a  particular 
location  but  to  determine  whether  conditions  are  so  much  more  favor- 
able elsewhere  as  to  make  the  attempt  at  competition  inadvisable. 
For  example,  let  it  be  assumed  that  a  tract  of  land  has  been  demon- 


10 

strated  to  yield  under  usual  conditions  200  pounds  of  cotton  per  acre, 
which  may  happen  at  existing  prices  to  be  profitable.  It  will,  never- 
theless, not  be  safe  to  purchase  such  land  for  the  production  of  cotton 
if  the  average  yield  of  cotton  of  the  same  grade  is  300  pounds  per 
acre.  If,  however,  a  tract  will  grow  under  normal  conditions  400 
pounds  of  cotton  it  may  be  a  good  investment,  although  growing  cotton 
on  average  soil  may  not  be  profitable.  It  is  also  clear  that  land  which 
will  raise  400  pounds  per  acre  is  worth  more  than  twice  as  much  for 
cotton  production  as  land  that  will  produce  200  pounds. 

It  is  partly  because  of  such  variations  in  production  that  wide 
differences  in  land  values  occur.  There  is,  therefore,  always  danger 
that  the  purchaser  may  pay  a  price  which  would  be  proper  for  land 
that  normally  produces  five  tons  of  alfalfa  per  acre  when  the  normal 
production  of  the  particular  tract  under  consideration  is  only  three 
tons  per  acre.  Exercise  of  the  proper  judgment  at  this  point  is  one 
of  the  most  important,  if  not  the  most  important  factor  to  success  in 
any  farming  enterprise. 

Investment  is  not  altogether  dependent  upon  geographical  location 
or  soil  type.  For  example,  two  orchards  or  vineyards  in  the  same 
neighborhood  and  upon  the  same  soil  type  may  be  so  managed  that 
one  becomes  worth  several  times  what  the  other  will  bring.  A  case 
in  point  is  where  two  orange  groves  were  developed  side  by  side. 
One  orchard  recently  sold  for  $3000  per  acre,  while  the  trees  are  being 
removed  from  the  other  because  the  orchard  could  not  be  sold  for 
$500  per  acre.  There  are  cases,  however,  where  the  purchase  and 
renovation  of  an  old  orchard  have  been  profitable  investments.  In 
other  words,  the  influence  of  fertilization  and  intelligent  management 
is  to  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  selection  of  a  particular 
tract  of  land. 

ORGANIZING  THE  FARM 

There  is  a  general  agreement  that  the  best  minimum  farm  unit 
should  furnish  work  for  at  least  two  men  since  there  are  some  oper- 
ations on  almost  every  farm  that  can  be  done  to  best  advantage  only  by 
two  or  more  persons  working  together.  From  the  standpoint  of  the 
owner  of  the  land  there  are  additional  reasons  for  finding  one  or  more 
employees  desirable.  A  farmer  should  always  seek  to  make  his  own 
labor  more  productive  than  that  of  a  farm  laborer.  There  always  has 
been,  and  doubtless  there  always  will  be,  men  whose  capacities  do 
not  enable  them  at  the  moment  to  command  more  than  the  daily 
wage.  By  combining  their  employment,  under  his  direction,  with 
that  of  his  own,  he  may  cause  them  to  earn  as  much  for  him  as  he 


11 

himself  earns.  He  thus  receives  as  surplus  income  the  difference 
between  his  own  earning  and  that  which  he  must  pay  them. 

Profits  often  consist  in  causing  others  to  earn  for  one  through  one 's 
superior  management  of  their  services,  more  than  they  could  earn 
without  such  direction.  If  one  does  not  make  his  profit  by  that 
means  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he  is  entitled  to  it.  If  this  point 
of  view  be  accepted,  it  becomes  apparent  that  the  organization  of 
labor  round  a  farming  enterprise  becomes  an  important,  if  not  the 
important  factor. 

One  of  the  first  questions  to  consider  is  what  wages  do  men  earn 
customarily  when  they  work  at  different  kinds  of  farm  work.  For 
example,  if  it  is  found  customary,  therefore  practicable,  to  pay  a  man 
$4  per  day  to  cultivate  land  with  a  tractor,  and  it  is  only  customary 
to  pay  $2  per  day  to  do  it  with  a  hoe,  it  must  be  fairly  obvious  that 
the  farmer  will  only  earn  $2  per  day  when  he  uses  a  hoe  but  may  earn 
$4  when  he  operates  a  tractor.  It  is  also  fairly  obvious  that  if  he  is 
to  profit  by  supervising  men  who  are  using  a  hoe,  he  must  have  an 
enterprise  that  employs  enough  of  them  to  make  it  worth  while. 

If  experience  shows  that  when  milking  is  done  by  machine,  the 
operator  is  customarily  paid  a  larger  wage  than  ordinary  milkers, 
then  it  would  be  advantageous  to  have  a  milking  machine,  provided 
the  farmer  has  been  doing  his  own  milking,  because  he  would  thereby 
himself  receive  a  higher  wage.  It  would  be  advantageous  also  in 
case  of  large  herds,  where  say  two  machine  operators  may  do  the  work 
of  three  hand  milkers.  To  put  it  more  broadly,  the  farmer  should  so 
organize  his  farm,  especially  if  he  does  a  considerable  part  of  the 
work  himself,  as  to  have  that  kind  of  labor  which  is  normally  best  paid. 

CKOP  SPECIALIZATION 

There  are  few  regions  where  agriculture  has  become  specialized 
to  the  same  degree  as  in  California.  When  custom  obtains  even  though 
it  may  appear  unwise,  it  is  well  to  recognize  that  probably  there  are 
good  reasons  for  it.  The  fundamental  reason  for  crop  specialization 
in  California  is  the  large  variety  in  crop  adaptation  which  exists  here. 
It  is  probably  also  due  to  the  fact  that  the  farther  a  product  is  from 
market  the  more  apt  its  production  is  to  become  a  specialized  industry. 

In  a  certain  section,  land  used  to  grow  potatoes  rents  for  $20  to 
$25  per  acre,  while  when  rented  for  barley  it  brings  from  $7  to  $10 
per  acre.  Under  these  conditions  the  owner  of  the  land  strives  to 
keep  it  in  potatoes  as  lang  as  such  rentals  maintain.  The  difficulty 
is  that  in  the  course  of  time  the  increase  in  insect  enemies  and  fungus 
diseases  makes  the  continuous  production  of  potatoes  unsatisfactory 


12 

both  in  quantity  and  quality.  So  long,  however,  as  there  are  available 
sufficient  quantities  of  new  land  to  produce  potatoes,  diversification 
will  not  become  necessary  since  the  older  cultivated  areas  will  abandon 
potatoes  for  other  crops. 

Certain  soils  are  nearly  valueless  for  growing  wheat  or  barley, 
but  may  be  highly  capitalized  when  planted  under  irrigation  to  certain 
fruits,  such  as  oranges,  lemons,  peaches  and  olives.  The  tendency  is 
very  great,  therefore,  to  put  all  such  land  into  fruit  because  of  its 
higher  possible  valuation.  The  amount  of  money  thus  made  through 
the  sale  of  land  has  been  much  greater  than  that  by  any  other  method. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  areas  now  planted  almost  solidly  to  fruit 
which  would  in  the  long  run  bring  a  much  more  satisfactory  living  if 
one-third  only  had  been  planted  to  fruit,  while  the  other  two-thirds 
had  been  put  into  other  crops.  This  would  have  been  especially  true 
if  the  crops  so  raised  had  been  fed  to  animals  so  that  manure  was 
available  for  keeping  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Among  the  addi- 
tional advantages  of  this  mixed  farming  are  a  more  uniform  use  of 
labor  and  a  less  variable  income,  the  latter  owing  to  the  fact  that 
production  and  prices  do  not  vary  equally  with  the  different  crops 
during  a  given  year. 

"Wherever  the  adaptation  of  climate  and  soil  are  satisfactory,  the 
fruit  specialist  may  improve  his  labor  conditions  and  stabilize  his 
income  by  planting  two  or  more  kinds  of  fruits. 

SALE  OF  LAND 

If  a  person  owns  a  ranch  that  is  profitable  he  is  not  generally 
anxious  to  sell  it.  If  a  man  owns  a  herd  of  cows  and  desires  to  sell 
some  of  them  he  will,  if  he  is  a  good  business  man,  seek  to  sell  his 
poorest  cows.  Lands  follow  the  same  economic  law.  The  ranches  that 
come  upon  the  market  are  apt  to  be  those  that  have  for  some  economic 
cause  become  unprofitable.  This  may,  of  course,  be  due  to  several 
reasons.  It  may  be  that  it  is  not  possible  to  compete  with  other  lands 
of  greater  fertility.  It  may  be  that  the  growth  of  cities  and  the 
development  of  transportation  have  made  it  no  longer  capable  of 
competing  with  other  areas.  It  may  be  due  to  mismanagement.  It 
may  be  that  changing  conditions  have  made  the  area  too  large  and 
that  it  needs  subdivision.  However,  thoroughly  desirable  areas  may 
be  placed  upon  the  market  for  various  reasons,  as  through  the  settling 
of  estates.  Frequently  splendid  areas  are  brought  into  the  market 
through  the  development  of  new  water  supplies. 

It  is  characteristic  of  California  conditions  that  its  soils  are  what 
is  called  "spotted."     There  may  be  very  poor  areas  surrounded  by 


13 

land  of  great  fertility.  Men  who  make  it  a  business  to  buy  and  sub- 
divide land  will  find  these  less  fertile  areas  offered  for  sale  at  much 
less  than  the  ordinary  run  of  land.  For  this  reason,  such  areas  are 
often  chosen  for  subdivision.  Doubtless  the  men  who  purchase  these 
tracts  for  subdivision  are  not  infrequently  mistaken  as  to  their  real 
value,  or  at  least  do  not  appreciate  the  actual  difference  in  produc- 
tivity between  contiguous  lands  of  different  qualities.  At  any  rate, 
what  the  new  settler  should  realize  is  that  because  he  sometimes  finds 
undesirable  properties  offered  to  him,  it  does  not  follow  that  fertile 
soils  do  not  exist  in  California.  Such  soil  may  exist  on  the  other  side 
of  the  fence.  California  is  a  state  of  wonderful  fertility  and  almost 
unthinkable  agricultural  possibilities,  of  which  anyone  who  wishes 
may  convince  himself  by  proper  investigations.  The  purpose  of  this 
circular,  however,  is  not  to  dwell  upon  the  great  opportunities  of  the 
state,  but  to  point  out  to  the  prospective  settler  the  difficulties  to  be 
avoided,  to  the  end  that  his  success  may  be  made  more  certain. 

NEED  OF  WATEE 

The  area  on  which  certain  crops  can  be  grown  in  this  state  is 
frequently  determined  by  the  water  supply  or  the  possibility  of 
developing  such  supply.  At  least  seven  and  possibly  eight  of  the 
principal  crops  mentioned  on  page  36  of  this  circular  are  dependent 
on  irrigation,  except  perhaps,  when  grown  in  some  of  the  localities 
of  the  state  more  favored,  so  far  as  precipitation  is  concerned.  The 
settler  should  look  carefully  into  everything  that  pertains  to  the  extent, 
reliability,  permanency,  and  cost  of  an  irrigation  water  supply  for 
his  farm,  as  outlined  in  a  subsequent  article,  page  33. 

Recently  the  Citrus  Experiment  Station  has  examined  about  one 
thousand  sources  of  irrigation  supplies.  The  analyses  of  these  waters 
show  a  great  variation  in  the  percentages  of  soluble,  salts  which  they 
contain.  In  a  considerable  number  of  cases,  the  water  has  been  found 
to  carry  almost  a  ton  of  alkali  and  in  extreme  cases  more  than  two 
tons  to  each  acre  of  land  irrigated  during  one  season.  Supplies  from 
wells  are  more  likely  to  be  dangerous  than  from  streams  or  storage 
reservoirs. 

In  any  case,  the  kind  or  percentage  of  salt  should  be  determined 
in  waters  used  for  irrigation.  Soils  which  are  naturally  porous  and 
well  drained  may  tolerate  a  considerable  application  of  soluble  salt 
for  some  years,  but  there  is  ultimate  danger  to  almost  any  soil  in 
the  use  of  such  irrigation  water.  Other  soils  which  are  not  under- 
drained  and  already  contain  a  quantity  of  alkali,  may  be  totally 
unfitted  for  crop  production  after  a  few  years. 


14 


SUBSOIL 


Soils  should  have  good  depth  and  good  drainage  in  areas  of  limited 
rainfall.  The  need  of  drainage  is  hard  to  appreciate  or  even  determine 
before  the  land  is  irrigated.  One  reason  why  analysis  of  the  soil  is 
of  so  little  value  in  ordinary  practice  is  that  the  depth  of  the  soil  and 
the  position  and  character  of  the  subsoil  usually  affect  the  produc- 
tivity of  virgin  soil  to  a  greater  extent  than  existing  variations  in 
plant  food.  Soils  in  arid  climates  are  more  likely  than  humid  soils 
to  develop  layers  of  hardpan.  These  layers  are  very  irregularly  laid 
down.  Hence,  a  careful  examination  is  required  to  determine  the 
extent  and  possible  injury  on  a  given  piece  of  land.  The  United  States 
Bureau  of  Soils  has,  on  account  of  these  structural  differences,  adopted 
the  rule  of  examining  a  profile  of  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  six  feet  in 
western  United  States,  while  elsewhere  three  feet  has  been  deemed 
sufficient. 

DEAINAGE 

Without  natural  or  artificial  drainage,  alkali  is  the  inevitable 
consequence  of  irrigation  wherever  the  evaporation  from  the  soil  is 
greater  than  the  rainfall.  "Irrigation  without  proper  provision  for 
drainage  has,  in  the  past,  in  very  many  cases,  been  the  cause  of 
abandonment  of  lands  once  abundantly  fruitful."3 

Without  stopping  to  go  into  the  matter  exhaustively,  it  may  be  said 
in  general,  that  those  lands  most  likely  to  be  brought  under  irrigation 
are  the  areas  which  usually  lack  good  natural  drainage.  In  humid 
sections  the  water  table  may  be  within  three  or  even  two  feet  of  the 
surface  without  injurious  results.  In  arid  sections  the  water  table 
should  be  not  nearer  than  five  feet  from  the  surface,  while  a  greater 
depth  is  desirable.  This  is  due  to  the  deeper  feeding  area  of  the  roots 
of  plants  in  arid  climates  as  well  as  greater  danger  from  alkali  where 
the  water  table  is  near  the  surface.  No  prediction  can  be  made  as 
to  the  length  of  time  which  will  elapse  before  alkali  will  appear 
under  irrigation.  There  are  areas  that  have  been  irrigated  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years  which  do  not  yet  show  the  need  of  under- 
drainage.  The  purpose  of  this  paragraph  is  merely  to  warn  pur- 
chasers of  irrigated  land  that  they  may  be  required  to  add  to  the 
purchase  price  the  cost  of  tile  drainage.  A  complete  system  of  tile 
drainage  may  cost  over  sixty  dollars  per  acre,  while  it  is  possible  that 


3  See  article  by  Dr.  Hilgard,  entitled  "  Alkali  Lands — Irrigation  and  Drainage 
in  Their  Mutual  Relation,"  in  the  Report  of  the  California  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station  for  the  year  1890. 


15 

sufficient  drainage  may  be  afforded  in  other  cases  at  a  cost  not  to 
exceed  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre. 

Opportunities  exist  today  for  the  purchase  and  reclamation  by 
tile  drainage  of  lands  that  have  "gone  bad"  under  irrigation.  The 
intending  purchaser  should  be  cautioned,  however,  to  try  to  reclaim 
only  lands  which  are  known  to  have  been  fertile.  Lands  which  have 
never  been  known  to  have  grown  profitable  crops  may  well  be  avoided 
in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge. 

GOOD  AND  BAD  LANDS 

The  goodness  or  badness  of  land  is  largely  in  relation  to  the  crop 
it  is  intended  to  grow.  Thus  there  are  soils  excellently  adapted  to 
olives  which  will  return  poor  yields  of  wheat  or  barley.  There  are 
vast  areas  in  California  well  adapted  to  grains  and  alfalfa,  on  which 
potatoes  cannot  be  grown  economically  because  of  the  character  of 
the  soil,  and  on  which  oranges  and  lemons  cannot  be  grown  on  account 
of  the  danger  of  frost.  Certain  lands  which  are  adapted  to  raising 
olives  are  not  worth,  and  in  the  past,  have  not  been  valued  at  more 
than  five  dollars  per  acre  for  other  types  of  farming,  but  are  now 
valued  at  and  may  be  worth  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre  for  olives. 
The  fact  that  lands  are  valued  at  much  higher  prices  when  adapted 
to  oranges,  lemons,  or  alfalfa  than  when  adapted  to  grains  has  led 
to  the  placing  upon  the  market  of  a  great  deal  of  land  for  crops  to 
which  it  is  not  adapted.  The  land  is  good  enough  when  used  for 
the  purpose  to  which  it  is  adapted,  but  it  is  bad  when  an  attempt  is 
made  to  use  it  for  some  other  purpose.  Certain  areas  may  be  very 
good  land  when  purchased  at  five  dollars  per  acre  for  grazing  purposes 
and  equally  bad  land  when  purchased  at  fifty  dollars  per  acre  for 
alfalfa,  or  five  hundred  dollars  per  acre  for  oranges.  Yet  there  are 
lands  that  are  good  when  purchased  at  five  hundred  dollars  for  oranges 
and  others  that  are  good  when  purchased  at  fifty  dollars  for  alfalfa. 
The  sale  of  land  at  prices  which  its  adaptability  does  not  justify,  has 
caused  greater  losses  and  greater  misery  than  any  other  thing  con- 
nected with  land  settlement. 

The  College  of  Agriculture  has  definite  information  concerning  types  of  soil 
and  their  adaptation  for  a  portion  of  the  state.  For  such  portions  as  are  known 
only  statements  concerning  crop  adaptations  for  the  type  in  general  can  be 
furnished.  No  assurance  of  economic  returns  can  be  made.  Persons  wishing 
information  with  reference  to  any  tract  should  state  specifically  the  range,  town- 
ship, number  of  section  and  the  quarter  section  to  which  reference  is  made. 
This  information  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  passing  upon  the  value  of  the  par- 
ticular tract  but  for  the  purpose  of  determining  to  what  soil  type  the  tract 
belongs. 


16 


PURCHASE   OF   LAND 

A  person  buying  farm  land  in  California  seldom  deals  with  the 
owner.  This  is  especially  true  where  a  large  tract  is  subdivided  and 
sold  to  settlers.  The  owner  of  such  a  tract  ordinarily  places  his 
holdings  in  the  hands  of  a  real-estate  firm,  which,  of  course,  handles 
the  sale  on  commission.  But  even  the  members  of  the  real-estate  firm 
seldom,  in  the  case  of  these  large  holdings,  make  the  sale  in  person. 
The  real-state  firm  employs  agents  of  a  more  or  less  itinerant  char- 
acter who  make  the  actual  sales.  Under  the  present  system,  the  agent 
with  whom  the  purchaser  deals  is  not  infrequently  an  irresponsible 
party  and  cannot  be  found  later  to  substantiate  the  statements  made. 
It  is  therefore  absolutely  necessary  for  the  purchaser  to  act  only  on 
evidence  confirmed  from  other  sources,  to  sign  no  contracts  that  he 
does  not  fully  understand  and  cannot  fully  verify,  and  to  be 
absolutely  certain  his  titles  to  the  land  and  to  the  water  rights  are 
satisfactory. 

Just  as  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  there  are  persons,  firms, 
or  corporations  which  make  it  their  business  to  abstract  titles.  In 
California,  such  a  person  or  agency  is  not  usually  called  an  abstractor 
of  titles  but  a  searcher  of  records.  On  smaller  transactions,  more- 
over, it  is  not  customary  to  insist  upon  an  abstract  of  title,  but  to 
secure  in  place  of  it  a  certificate  of  title,  which  is  in  effect  a  statement 
by  the  person,  firm,  or  corporation  that  it  has  examined  the  title  and 
certifies  that  it  is  valid,  or  if  the  title  is  not  clear  states  in  what  way 
the  title  is  clouded.  In  some  of  the  larger  towns  may  be  found  an 
office,  perhaps  next  door  to  the  bank,  over  which  is  the  sign  "Title 
Bureau."  This  means  that  the  searcher  of  records  has  qualified 
under  the  state  law  to  issue  for  an  additional  fee  a  policy  of  title 
insurance.  While  the  searcher  of  records  is  not  a  public  officer  or  the 
title  bureau  a  public  agency,  they  constitute  at  present  the  accepted 
method  of  securing  advice  concerning  land  titles.  Under  existing 
conditions,  the  new  settler  will  do  well  to  secure  title  insurance  before 
purchasing  land. 

HOW  TO  LOCATE 

Probably  nothing  can  make  a  man  keen  in  a  horse  trade  save 
experience.  No  law  can  furnish  a  man  with  judgment.  The  United 
States  and  the  state  government  are  endeavoring  to  furnish  informa- 
tion on  which  men  may  base  sound  judgment  if  they  are  level-headed 
and  already  have  some  knowledge  of  farming.     It  is,  of  course,  im- 


.17 

portant  to  "help  the  investor  as  much  as  possible  through  supplying 
accurate  data,  but  the  buyers  must  assume  some  of  the  responsibility 
when  they  buy  without  attempting  to  inform  themselves."  Persons 
with  no  knowledge  of  farming  are  advised  not  to  purchase  farm  lands 
in  California  until  some  months  of  experience  have  brought  them 
into  actual  contact  with  conditions. 

It  will  be  found  of  special  advantage  for  the  settler,  whether  he 
desires  to  purchase  or  rent,  to  secure  employment  in  the  location 
and  with  the  type  of  farming  to  which  he  considers  himself  best 
adapted  or  most  interested.  The  importance  of  this  probationary 
period  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  climatic  conditions  and  the  methods 
often  differ  essentially  from  those  in  other  places.  A  season  of  such 
apprenticeship  and  experience  may  save  disappointment  and  prevent 
failure  in  whole  or  in  part. 

Soil  surveys  of  a  large  part  of  California  have  been  made  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Soils  in  cooperation  with  the  California 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station.  These  soil  surveys  are  published 
with  a  map  showing  the  location  and  extent  of  the  soils  occuring 
within  the  area  and  a  report  giving  an  accurate  and  authoritative 
description  of  the  various  types  of  soil,  their  specific  character,  topo- 
graphic position,  drainage  and  other  features,  together  with  a  dis- 
cussion of  their  present  utilization  and  their  adaptation  to  different 
crops.  These  surveys  are  distributed  free  and  can  be  obtained  from 
the  Senators  or  Representatives  in  Congress  or  from  the  Division  of 
Soil  Technology,  University  of  California  at  Berkeley.  If  the  surveys 
are  out  of  print,  they  can  be  consulted  in  most  of  the  public  libraries 
where  they  are  listed  under  the  "Field  Operations  of  the  Bureau  of 
Soils."  The  map  (fig.  1)  shows  the  area  of  the  state  covered  to  the 
end  of  1918.  The  appended  lists  show  the  surveys  that  have  been 
issued  and  their  status  as  out  of  print,  available,  or  in  preparation. 

In  addition  to  the  soil  surveys,  the  Forest  Service  has  made  a 
study  of  all  the  lands  within  the  National  Forests  that  might  be  more 
valuable  for  agriculture  than  for  forestry,  and  lands  so  designated 
have  been  set  aside  for  elimination  from  the  forests  and  are  being 
thrown  open  to  entry  under  the  homestead  laws.  Information  regard- 
ing these  lands  can  be  obtained  from  the  Forest  Service  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  or  from  the  District  office  at  114  Sansome  street,  San  Fran- 
cisco. Less  than  2  per  cent  of  the  National  Forest  lands  are  of  possible 
agricultural  value. 


18 


Soil  Surveys  Out  of  Print  Except  in  Bound  Volumes,  which  can  be 
Consulted  in  Public  Libraries 

Bakersfield  Area  1904 

Butte   Valley   Area 1907 

Colusa  Area  1907 

Fresno    Area    1900 

Fresno    Area   1912 

Hanford  Area  1901 

Imperial  Area  1901 

Imperial  Area  1903 

Indio  Area  1903 

Klamath  Reclamation  Area 1908 

Livermore   Valley   Area 1910 

Los  Angeles  Area 1903 

Lower  Salinas  Valley  Area 1901 

Madera  Area  1910 

Marysville  Area   1909 


Modesto-Turlock  Area  

1908 

Pajaro   Valley   Area 

1908 

Porterville  Area  

1908 

Redding-  Area   

1907 

Red  Bluff  Area 

1910 

Sacramento   Area   

1904 

Sacramento  Valley  Recon.  Area 

1913 

San  Bernardino  Area 

1904 

San  Gabriel   Area 

1901 

San  Jose  Area 

1903 

Santa  Ana   Area 

1900 

Stockton    Area    

1905 

Ventura  Area   

1901 

Woodland  Area  

1909 

Yuma  Area  

1904 

Healdsburg   Area   1915 

Honey  Lake  Area 1915 

Lower  San  Joaquin  Recon 1915 

Merced  Area  1914 

Pasadena  Area  1915 

Riverside   Area   1915 


Surveys  Available  in  Pamphlet  Form 

San   Fernando   Area 1915 

San   Francisco   Bay  Recon. 

Area    1914 

San    Diego    Reconnaissance 

Area    1915 

Ukiah  Area 1914 


Surveys  Completed  but  not  yet  Published 


Anaheim  Area  1916 

El  Centro   Area 1918 

Grass   Valley   Area 1918 

Los  Angeles  Area 1916 

Middle  San  Joaquin  Recon 1916 


Santa  Maria  Area 1916 

Southern  Cal.  Recon.  Area 1917 

Upper  San  Joaquin  Recon. 

Area    1917 

Ventura   Area   1917 

Willits   Area   1918 


AVAILABLE  INFORMATION 

"While  it  is  possible  to  state  some  of  the  general  problems  that  will 
arise  in  connection  with  the  purchase,  organization,  and  operation  of 
a  farm,  there  will  always  be  many  more  strictly  local  problems  which 
can  only  be  settled  by  personal  contact.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  fed- 
eral government  in  connection  with  the  agricultural  colleges  of  the 
respective  states  to  maintain  one  or  more  representatives  in  each  of 
the  agricultural  counties  of  the  United  States. 

There  are  one  or  more  such  representatives  in  each  of  thirty-five 
counties  in  California.  In  1910,  85  per  cent  of  all  the  farmers  of 
California  lived  in  these  counties.  These  representatives  in  California 
are  known  as  farm  advisors,  or  assistant  farm  advisors,  as  the  case  may 


19 

be.  Since  their  salaries  are  paid  wholly  from  federal  and  state  appro* 
priations,  their  information  and  advice  is  as  unbiased  as  it  is  possible 
to  secure  in  human  beings.  Under  the  same  law,  women  home  demon- 
strators are  maintained  in  some  counties.  These  agencies  are  at  the 
service  of  anyone  who  desires  to  create  wealth  out  of  the  soil  or  to 
make  a  home  on  the  land,  without  any  charge  or  obligation  of  any  sort. 

In  addition  to  their  own  knowledge  and  experience,  the  farm 
advisors  may  call  upon  the  staff  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
University  of  California,  or  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, whenever  a  new  problem  arises.  They  also  become  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  best  farmers,  and  hence  with  the  best  farming 
practices,  of  their  particular  counties.  They  can,  for  example,  tell  the 
new  settler  who  are  the  successful  wheat  and  potato  growers,  the 
leading  almond  and  peach  growers,  the  largest  hog  and  cattle  raisers, 
or  the  best  dairymen. 

No  man  who  intends  to  farm  or  is  farming  should  fail  to  see  for 
himself  the  best  farming  operations  and  talk  with  the  men  who  have 
been  most  successful  in  the  line  of  farming  he  follows  or  expects  to 
follow.  Anyone  entering  upon  the  land  or  operating  a  farm  may 
obtain  first-hand  knowledge  of  his  business,  since  there  are  agencies 
in  the  state  and  in  many  of  the  important  agricultural  counties  of  the 
state  which  will  either  give  to  him  the  existing  knowledge  which  is 
essential  to  his  business,  or  explain  to  him  where  such  knowledge  may 
be  obtained.  In  addition  to  the  farm  advisors  there  are  the  county 
horticultural  commissioners,  the  county  livestock  inspectors,  and  the 
county  libraries  which  keep  on  hand  a  supply  of  agricultural  books 
to  loan  to  farmers  free  of  charge.  The  state  provides  correspondence 
courses  in  agriculture,  and  short  courses  for  beginners  and  experienced 
farmers,  together  with  the  more  extended  courses  in  agriculture  for 
their  sons  and  daughters.  Whether  he  has  the  energy  and  patience 
to  acquire  the  necessary  information  rests  with  the  individual. 

No  one  who  comes  to  California  to  locate  upon  the  Iwid  needy 
therefore,  go  without  reasonable  authoritative  and  accurate  knowl- 
edge, if  he  consults  the  various  sources  of  information  which  have 
been  mentioned  and  which  are  ready  ivithout  a  charge  to  serve  the 
prospective  settler. 

EXPENSE  ACCOUNT 

Every  family  should  keep  an  expense  account  whether  it  lives  in 

the  country  or  in  the  city.     Probably  farming  enterprises  with  an 

investment  of  less  than  $50,000  cannot  afford  to  employ  a  bookkeeper. 

Hence,  on  most  farms  if  accounts  are  kept,  they  must  be  kept  by 


20 


LAND   CLASSIFICATION 

MB 

SOIL   SURVEYS 
CALIFORNIA 


-  Lesend  — 

£«il  Surveys  -made 
5/ nee  1913 

'Soil  $utvey$~7vixcle  j>Mort 
1913  not  include4  in  more 
recent  surveys 


Nnkion*.!    Forests  -  covered  by 
forest  littd   cl&ssiftcaitioh 


Fig.  1. — Soil  surveys  of  a  large  part  of  California  have  been  made  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Soils  in  cooperation  with  the  California  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station. 


21 

some  member  of  the  family.  Since  both  family  and  farm  accounts 
should  be  kept  by  every  farm  family,  in  many  instances  it  will  be 
found  that  they  can  be  most  conveniently  and  efficiently  kept  by  the 
wife  or  daughter.  To  one  who  is  not  accustomed  to  it,  it  is  all  very 
confusing  at  first,  but  it  is  really  surprising  how  in  a  little  time  it 
becomes  almost  second  nature  to  perform  this  daily  task  and  how 
little  time  it  really  takes  when  done  regularly,  as  it  must  be  to  be 
successful. 

The  keeping  of  accounts  is  becoming  an  important  question  now 
that  everyone  must  report  to  the  collector  of  income  taxes.  Farmers 
need  to  know  what  their  income  is,  first,  in  order  to  know  whether 
their  supposed  income  is  a  real  income  or  only  on  apparent  one. 
Without  proposing  any  plan  for  the  California  farmer  the  following 
English  custom  of  obtaining  their  yearly  balance  is  suggestive : 

It  is  an  English  custom  for  every  tenant  farmer  to  take  an  inven- 
tory on  March  25,  which  is  the  close  of  the  British  farmer's  fiscal  year. 
This  inventory  is  always  made  by  some  outside,  supposedly  disinter- 
ested, party.  In  making  the  appraisement  allowance  is  made  for  the 
manure  placed  upon  the  land,  and  for  all  work  done  on  the  land  prior 
to  March  25,  that  affects  succeeding  crops.  It  includes  an  allowance 
for  grass  lands  recently  seeded.  One-third  the  value  of  all  protein 
foods,  such  as  cottonseed  meal,  fed  during  the  year  is  carried  into  the 
next  year's  inventory.  Three  dollars  per  ton  is  carried  forward  for 
cereals  fed  during  the  year. 

There  is  no  thought  of  proposing  this  particular  plan  to  the  Cali- 
fornia farmer,  but  it  is  obvious  that  some  satisfactory  plan  must  be 
worked  out  before  a  farmer  can  determine  the  real  income  from  a 
single  year's  operations.  A  simple  plan  of  keeping  farm  accounts 
has  been  worked  out  and  the  necessary  books  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
farm  advisors  in  the  several  counties.  The  farm  advisor  or  his  assist- 
ant will  help  farmers  to  open  these  simple  records  correctly,  and  will 
help  them  close  their  books  at  the  end  of  the  year,  so  that  they  may  at 
least  know  what  their  apparent  incomes  have  been,  and  may  get  some 
idea  of  their  real  incomes. 

MARKETING 

Every  farmer  should  get  in  touch  with  the  marketing  organizations 
which  handle  his  products  in  his  particular  locality.  The  farmers  of 
California  have  the  deserved  reputation  of  being  the  most  cooperative 
in  spirit  of  those  of  any  section  in  the  United  States.  It  is  not  remark- 
able, therefore,  that  California  has  the  largest  number  of  successful 
farmers'  organizations  of  any  state  in  the  Union. 


22 

The  new  settler  should  join  one  or  more  of  these  organizations, 
as  the  character  of  his  business  may  indicate,  not  alone  because  of  the 
increased  price  he  may  obtain  for  his  product,  but  because  it  puts  him 
into  direct  contact  with  successful  men  of  his  particular  industry.  In 
many  cases  the  improved  methods  that  he  is  thereby  caused  to  adopt 
are  of  more  importance  than  the  increase  of  price  per  unit  which  he 
obtains  for  his  crop.4 

It  goes  without  saying  that  there  may  be  both  desirable  and 
undesirable  cooperative  organizations.  Neither  is  it  possible  for  any- 
one to  say  precisely  whether  a  proposed  organization  will  work  out 
satisfactorily.     There  are,  however,  three  general  factors  involved : 

1.  The  type  of  industry,  including  the  character  of  the  demand 

for  the  product. 

2.  The  type  of  organization,  whether  or  not  it  is  adapted  to  the 

particular   industry.      One   type    of   organization   may   be 
satisfactory  for  one  industry  and  not  satisfactory  to  another. 

3.  The  ability,  integrity  and  motives  of  the  men  conducting  the 

organization. 

A  successful  marketing  organization  should  accomplish  one  or 
more  of  the  following  things : 

1.  Produce  standardized  goods. 

2.  Provide  for  selling  in  more  than  one  market. 

3.  Provide  organization  and  systematic  distribution  of  products 

among  successful  markets. 

4.  Provide  methods  of  attracting  customers  to  California  products. 

5.  Bring  about  better  transportation  facilities. 

6.  Accomplish  the  purchase  of  necessary  supplies  to  better  advan- 

tage. 

The  type  of  organization  which  will  accomplish  the  best  results,  as 
heretofore  indicated,  is  rather  more  debatable.  There  are  certain 
points  which  can  only  be  determined  by  experience.  However,  there 
is  a  certain  consensus  of  opinion  on  the  following: 

1.  Cooperative  selling  organizations  generally  succeed  best  which 
deal  in  only  one  product  or  in  closely  related  products. 
Either  lemons  and  oranges,  or  wheat,  barley  and  oats,  or 
potatoes  and  onions  may  be  handled  successfully  by  one 
selling  organization,  while  strawberries  and  lemons,  or 
potatoes  and  wheat  have  not  generally  been  handled  suc- 
cessfully by  the  same  agency. 


4  The  Bureau  of  Markets  issues  daily  bulletins  giving  shipments,  receipts  and 
prices  of  crops,  such  as  beans,  onions,  potatoes,  and  fruits. 


23 

2.  Most  farmers'  organizations  succeed  best  in  which  every  person 
belonging  to  the  organization  has  an  equal  voice.    In  other 
words,    an    organization    is    considered    truly    cooperative 
when  each  member  has  one  vote,  as  distinguished  from  a 
corporation  where  each  man  has  a  number  of  votes  in  pro- 
portion to  the  capital  stock  he  has  invested. 
The  comments  under  this  paragraph   on  marketing   are  not  in- 
tended as  a  complete  or  comprehensive  discussion  on  the  subject  of 
cooperation,  but  are  merely  suggestions  for  the  guidance  of  the  new 
settler. 

CLIMATE  AS  AFFECTING  CROP  PKODUCTIONs 

Owing  to  its  topography,  prevailing  winds,  and  proximity  to  the 
ocean,  California  is  subject  to  a  very  wide  variation  of  rainfall,  tem- 
perature, and  atmospheric  humidity,  which  produce  phases  of  climate 
characteristic  of  the  several  large  regions  into  which  the  state  may  be 
divided. 

To  those  coming  from  states  east  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  two 
general  features  of  the  climate  of  California  will  be  noticeable: 
First,  the  season  of  greatest  rainfall  is  in  the  winter  months;  the 
months  of  June,  July  and  August  being  almost  devoid  of  rainfall. 
Second,  owing  to  local  topography,  the  lines  of  equal  temperature  run 
for  the  most  part  north  and  south,  rather  than  east  and  west,  as  in 
other  parts  of  the  country. 

So  far  as  climate  in  its  bearing  on  crop  production  is  concerned, 
the  state  may  be  divided  into  five  regions,  but  even  in  these  divisions 
there  will  be  some  climatic  features  common  to  all. 

The  map  on  the  last  page  indicates  divisions  of  the  state  according 
to  the  prevalence  of  similar  climatic  conditions  which  roughly  deter- 
mine agricultural  adaptations,  viz : 

1.  Northwest  Coast  Region. 

2.  Central  Coast  Region. 

3.  Southern  Coast  Region. 

4.  Interior  Valley  Region. 

5.  Mountain  and  Plateau  Region. 

The  Northwest  Coast  Region. — This  section  is  mountainous,  being 
covered  principally  by  the  Coast  Range.  The  valleys  are  relatively 
small  and  irregular.  The  important  climatic  features  of  this  section 
are  the  moderate  temperatures  throughout  the  year,  the  high  annual 
rainfall,  and  the  prevalence  of  high  winds  and  fogs  along  the  coast. 


s  By  E.  J.  Wickson,  Professor  of  Horticulture,  Emeritus. 


24 

At  Eureka  in  Humboldt  County  the  highest  temperature  recorded 
is  85.2  (June  6,  1903),  while  the  lowest  is  20  (January  4,  1888).  In 
most  portions  of  this  section  the  rainfall  varies  from  40  to  100  inches. 
This  variation,  however,  is  mainly  due  to  elevation.  It  should  be 
noted  that  from  year  to  year  the  rainfall  may  vary  in  any  one  place 
more  than  100  per  cent,  and  as  stated  above,  it  is  always  smallest  in 
July  and  August. 

This  section  most  nearly  resembles  the  east-north  central  and 
middle  Atlantic  states  in  its  agricultural  operations  and  possibilities. 
It  is  eminently  suited  for  the  production  of  forage  grasses  and  clover, 
and  to  dairying,  and  has  also  demonstrated  success  with  several  fruits 
in  proper  soils  and  exposures. 

The  Central  Coast  Region. — This  region  includes  coast  slopes, 
many  small  valleys,  a  few  of  considerable  size,  and  a  large  area  of 
foothills  and  mountains  west  of  the  high  ridge  of  the  Coast  Range, 
which  at  several  points  attains  an  elevation  of  about  4000  feet. 
Among  the  valleys  are  those  of  the  San  Francisco  Bay  district — the 
pioneer  regions  of  commercial  crop-growing  and  which  now  constitute 
one  of  the  largest  highly  developed  and  densely  populated  agricultural 
districts  of  the  state.  Central  in  this  district  lies  the  City  and  County 
of  San  Francisco,  which  enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of  having  pro- 
duced the  tallest  sky-scrapers  and  the  broadest  cabbage  fields  in  the 
state.  North  of  San  Francisco  are  the  coast  valleys  which  are  great 
producers  of  dairy  and  poultry  products,  fruits  and  field  crops,  and 
south  of  San  Francisco  are  the  bay-shore  valleys  long  noted  for  truck 
crops,  fruits — the  prunes  of  Santa  Clara  and  the  apples  of  Pajaro 
valleys — and  the  hay,  grain,  and  sugar  beets  of  Salinas  and  Santa 
Maria  valleys,  while  adjacent  hill  lands  are  largely  used  for  grazing 
and,  on  the  coast  side,  for  the  dairy  industry. 

The  Central  Coast  Region  is  very  diversified  in  topography,  inter- 
mediate in  temperatures  and  rainfall  between  its  neighboring  coast 
districts  north  and  south,  and  it  has  a  range  of  products  wide  as  the 
state  itself,  except  that  citrus  fruits  are  not  commercially  produced, 
although  grown  by  amateurs  at  favoring  elevations  and  exposures. 

The  Southern  Coast  Region. — This  region  extends  from  the  point 
where  the  coast  takes  a  sharp  eastward  turn  and  proceeds  southward 
to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  state.  Its  width  is  determined  by  the 
distance  of  the  high  ridge  of  the  Coast  Range  from  the  ocean — narrow 
at  the  west,  increasing  toward  the  central  part,  where  the  San  Gabriel 
and  Santa  Ana  valleys  extending  northerly  and  easterly  to  the  foot  of 
Mt.  San  Bernardino,  and  then  narrowing  again  to  its  southern  limit 


25 

just  below  San  Diego  Bay.  Owing  to  its  environment  and  exposure, 
as  well  as  its  latitude,  this  region  has  more  heat  than  the  more 
northerly  coast  regions,  though  in  its  extensions  away  from  the  ocean 
it  has  had  in  some  places  and  at  long  intervals  a  brief  drop  in  tempera- 
ture to  a  degree  as  low  as  other  valleys  with  similar  elevations.  It  is 
on  the  whole,  however,  most  equable  in  its  temperatures  and  by  this 
widely  known  characteristic  has  attracted  settlement  and  development 
in  some  respects  beyond  other  districts  of  the  state.  The  products  of 
the  district  are  large  and  various,  including  most  of  the  present  pro- 
duction of  citrus  fruits  and  walnuts,  most  of  the  beans,  much  of  the 
sugar  beets  and  truck  crops  for  overland  shipment,  and  dairy,  poultry, 
hay,  grain,  and  orchard  fruits  for  a  part  of  its  local  consumption.  It 
is  for  the  most  part  an  irrigated  district,  though  some  crops  are 
successfully  made  along  the  coast  by  rainfall. 

The  Interior  Valleys  Region. — This  region  extends  from  the  north 
end  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  southward  through  the  length  of  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley  to  the  Tehachapi  Mountains,  which  form  its 
southern  boundary.  This  pair  of  connected  valleys  constitute  what 
is  properly  called  l '  The  Great  Valley  of  California, ' '  about  400  miles 
long  and  from  40  to  60  miles  wide.  It  contains  a  larger  body  of  pro- 
ductive land  than  any  other  subdivision  of  the  state.  Central  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Great  Valley  are  the  deltas  of  the  two  great  rivers 
whose  names  designate  their  respective  valleys.  The  break  in  the 
Coast  Range  which  gives  outlet  to  their  waters  to  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  also  admits  an  interior  extension  of  coast  influences  which 
modify  climatic  conditions  over  these  deltas  and  adjacent  lands,  as  is 
indicated  by  the  circular  intrusion  of  Division  2  into  Divison  4  as 
shown  on  the  map.  This  circular  area  is  somewhat  different  in  climatic 
characters,  however,  from  that  of  either  of  the  divisions  to  which  it  is 
related,  for  it  is  a  blending  of  the  two. 

In  the  extreme  southeast  part  of  the  state  is  another  area  marked 
Division  4  which  is  thus  connected  with  the  Great  Valley  because  it 
has  closer  resemblance  thereto,  both  in  characters  and  products,  than 
to  any  other  region  of  the  state.  It  comprises  the  Imperial  Valley  and 
other  valleys  adjacent  to  the  Colorado  River.  It  differs  from  the 
Great  Valley  in  having  a  higher  temperature  both  in  summer  and 
winter  and  in  its  rainfall,  which  is  practically  negligible,  as  all 
cropping  is  conditioned  upon  irrigation. 

The  Great  Valley  differs  from  the  coast  regions  west  of  it  in  having 
a  lower  winter  temperature,  because  its  dominating  environment  is 
the  snow-clad  Sierra  on  its  east  side,  while  the  dominating  environ- 


26 

ment  of  the  coast  is  the  ocean.  This  contrast  is  more  marked  through 
the  central  and  southward  stretches  of  the  Great  Valley.  Another 
contrast  is  found  in  summer  temperatures  which  may  average  more 
than  twenty  degrees  higher  on  the  east  than  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Coast  Range,  because  the  ocean  then  has  a  cooling  effect  upon  the 
regions  open  to  its  influence. 

In  rainfall  the  Great  Valley  has  such  marked  differences  that 
generalization  is  impossible.  Roughly  speaking,  the  Sacramento  Val- 
ley may  be  said  to  have  from  20  to  40  inches  of  rainfall  in  different 
years,  while  the  San  Joaquin  has  from  4  to  16.  This  variation  in 
rainfall  is,  however,  overcome  by  irrigation  which  is  practiced  in  the 
Great  Valley  over  a  greater  acreage  of  land  than  in  any  other  region 
of  the  state.     The  products  include  all  grown  anywhere  in  the  state. 

The  Mountain  and  Plateau  Region. — It  has  been  found  by  obser- 
vation during  many  years  that  what  are  known  as  valley  conditions 
prevail  to  an  elevation  of  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  over  the  rolling 
region  known  as  the  "foothills" — which  are  the  steps  up  to  the  high 
ranges.  Above  this  elevation  winter  temperatures  fall  lower,  rainfall 
increases,  snow  flurries  begin,  and  thence  upward  mountain  valleys 
and  plateaux  are  found  at  different  levels  up  to  about  six  thousand 
feet,  which  is  about  the  top  of  California's  agricultural  lands,  and 
above  four  thousand  feet  such  lands  are  used  principally  for  summer 
pasturage.  This  mountain  region  has  a  winter  like  that  of  the  eastern 
states  with  a  great  precipitation  of  rain  and  snow  to  cause  great 
rivers  to  flow  down  the  west  side  of  the  Sierra  and  give  the  state  its 
invaluable  and  ample  water  supply  for  power  and  irrigation.  In  the 
valleys  among  the  great  snow  mountains  there  are  farming  districts 
of  considerable  present  production  and  great  future  promise.  The 
most  marked  character  of  these  high  lands  is  the  limitations  placed 
upon  cropping  by  the  short  growing  season  and  the  frequency  of 
frosts  during  the  spring  and,  at  the  higher  elevations,  even  during  the 
summer  months.  Therefore  this  division  differs  most  markedly  from 
other  California  regions  and  has  closer  resemblance  to  some  of  the 
interior  states  than  to  the  coast  and  valley  areas  of  our  own  state. 
In  this  region  there  is  a  modification  of  low  temperatures  from  the 
north  to  the  south,  for  the  mountain  region  is  more  open  to  the 
influence  of  north  and  south  latitude  and  is  not  so  fully  dominated 
by  local  topography  and  ocean  influences,  which  give  to  the  rest  of 
the  state  its  unique  climatic  characters. 


27 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  CALIFORNIA  SOILS6 

In  the  humid  regions  of  the  world,  and  especially  in  the  humid 
region  of  the  United  States,  practically  nine-tenths  of  the  soils  are 
either  of  residual  or  of  glacial  origin.  The  glacial  soils  have  been 
transported  and  deposited  by  ice,  and  while  the  glacial  deposits  may 
be  very  deep,  the  true  soil  is  not  deep.  The  subsoil  is  usually  heavier 
than  the  surface,  often  clayey,  and  the  practical  feeding  depth  of 
roots  is  usually  less  than  four  feet.    The  residual  soils  are  much  more 

extensive  than  the  glacial  soils. 
They  are  formed  by  the  destruction 
of  rock  masses,  the  disintegrated 
and  decomposed  fragments  accumu- 
lating on  the  surface  of  the  hard 
rock  to  form  the  soil  mass.  Resi- 
dual soils  usually  have  a  surface 
soil  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  resting 
on  heavier  material  that  grades  to 
a  clay  at  two  or  three  feet  in  depth. 
At  greater  depths  rock  fragments 
are  found  in  the  clay  and  these 
grow  more  numerous  until  the  mass 
is  largely  broken  or  ' '  rotten  rock, ' ' 
and  finally  the  solid  rock  mass  is 
reached.  (See  fig.  2.)  The  total 
depth  of  the  soil  mass  above  the  rock  varies  greatly,  but  usually  is  less 
than  four  feet. 

In  the  humi'd  regions,  the  transported  soils,  other  than  those 
formed  by  glacial  action,  are  of  little  extent.  The  flood  plains  and 
bench  lands  along  the  rivers  and  creeks  are  exceedingly  productive, 
but  their  total  area  is  small  compared  with  the  residual  and  glacial 


LOAMY 
SOIL 


CLAYEY 
SUBSOIL 


DECOMPOSED 
ROCK 

ROCK 


Fig.  2. — Section  of  a  typical  resi- 
dual soil  showing  gradation  from 
soil  through  clay,  rotten  rock  to 
solid  rock. 


soils. 

In  California,  as  in  all  arid  regions,  the  residual  soils  available 
for  agriculture  are  of  relatively  limited  extent,  forming  about  10 
per  cent  of  the  arable  lands  of  the  state.  They  are  found  on  hill 
slopes  and  on  mountain  sides  and  their  topographic  position  makes 
irrigation  exceedingly  difficult  or  impossible,  while  the  shallow  soil 
mass  makes  dry  farming  precarious.  In  the  Coast  Ranges  and  on  the 
Sierra  foothills  are  some  successfully  farmed  residual  soils,  but  their 
total  area  is  relatively  small. 


s  By  Charles  F.  Shaw,  Professor  of  Soil  Technology. 


28 

By  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  agricultural  lands  in  the  state  are 
transported  soils.  For  uncounted  ages  the  winter  rains  have  been 
washing  the  rock  fragments  from  the  mountain  sides  and  carrying 
the  material  out  to  the  valleys,  spreading  the  mass  out  as  broad 
sloping  alluvial  fans  or  as  relatively  flat  valley  floor.  The  accumu- 
lation of  sediments  in  the  valleys  is  often  hundreds  or  even  thousands 
of  feet  deep  (fig.  3). 

Soils  formed  in  this  way  may  be  quite  uniform  to  great  depths 
or  may  be  made  up  of  successive  layers  of  varying  texture,  sands, 
silts,  gravels  or  clays.  As  the  soils  are  laid  down  a  little  at  a  time, 
year  after  year,  they  have  been  acted  upon  by  weathering  agencies 
breaking  up  the  particles  and  making  the  plant  food  quite  available. 
Under  the  climatic  conditions  that  exist,  with  the  hot  dry  summers 
and  the  low  rainfall  in  winter,  the  weathering  action  of  air  and 
water,  the  beneficial  action  of  bacteria  and  the  formation  of  humus 
in  the  soil,  occur  to  considerable  depths.  Roots  ordinarily  penetrate 
to  depths  of  six  to  eight  feet  below  the  surface.  In  studying  the  soil, 
it  is  necessary  to  consider  at  least  a  six-foot  section,  instead  of  the 
usual  three-foot  section  of  the  humid  regions.  The  climatic  conditions 
of  the  region  and  the  mode  of  formation  of  the  soils,  have  brought 
about  many  features  that  are  not  common  to  the  soils  of  a  humid 
region.  Owing  to  the  deficiency  of  rain,  the  soils  have  never  been 
subject  to  any  great  degree  of  leaching  and  most  of  the  soluble 
materials  have  been  left  in  the  soil  mass. 

These  transported  soils  fall  into  two  groups — the  recent  trans- 
ported soils  and  the  old  transported  soils.  The  recent  soils  form  about 
three-fifths  of  the  arable  lands  of  the  state  and  represent  the  best  and 
most  desirable  soils.  The  soil  mass  is  usually  quite  deep,  and  uni- 
form in  general  character.  Nearly  two-thirds  of  these  soils  have 
excellent  textures,  ranging  from  sandy  loams  to  clay  loams.  These 
soils  are  easy  to  work  and  take  irrigation  water  readily,  making  them 
very  desirable  for  almost  any  type  of  farming.  About  10  per  cent 
of  these  soils  are  of  a  sandy  or  gravelly  nature,  loose  and  open,  and 
of  a  '  'leachy"  character.  Because  of  the  low  rainfall  and  consequent 
lack  of  leaching,  however,  the  sands  are  much  more  productive  than 
are  similar  soils  in  a  humid  region.  Properly  handled  they  give  very 
good  yields,  and  because  they  are  warm,  "early"  soils,  they  are 
especially  adapted  to  special  crops  such  as  melons  and  sweet  potatoes. 
Where  these  soils  are  too  loose  and  open  there  is  difficulty  in  irrigation, 
owing  to  excessive  seepage.  Properly  farmed,  these  sandy  soils  prove 
very  productive  and  desirable. 


29 


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30 


Fig.  5. — An  adobe  soil,  on  dry- 
ing, shrinks  markedly  and  breaks 
into  blocks,  with  wide  cracks  be- 
tween. 


SOJL 


Less  than  3  per  cent  of  the  recent  transported  soils  are  heavy 
in  texture — clays  and  clay  adobes.  The  term  "adobe"  does  not  indi- 
cate a  specific  kind  of  soil,  but  refers  to  the  structure.  There  are 
clay  adobe,  clay  loam  adobe,  and  loam  adobe,  although  the  latter  is 
very  rare.     The  name  is  given  to  any  soil  which  on  drying  shrinks 

markedly  and  breaks  into  blocks 
with  wide  cracks  between.  (See 
fig.  5.)  An  adobe  structure  is  un- 
desirable because  the  soils  dry  out, 
not  only  from  the  surface  but  also 
from  the  sides  of  the  wide  cracks. 
In  irrigating,  the  water  must  first 
fill  the  cracks  and  then  slowly  soak 
into  the  hard  baked  block.  On  wet- 
ting, the  blocks  swell  up  and  close 
the  cracks,  which  reopen  again  on 
drying.  Considerable  injury  to 
plants  may  occur  through  the 
breaking  of  roots  that  cross  the 
lines  of  these  cracks  and  through 
the  drying  of  many  of  the  feeding 
roots. 

The  adobe  soils  are  difficult  to 
till    and   maintain    in   the    proper 
state  of  granulation,  but  with  good 
farming  methods  a  good  structure 
can  be  maintained.    These  soils  are 
very   rich,    giving   high    yields    of 
the  crops  that  are  adapted  to  such 
heavy  soils,   especially  grains  and 
grasses,  and  these  yields  make  up, 
to  a  great  extent,  the  handicap  of 
their  more  difficult  nature. 
The  recent  transported  soils  occupy  level  to  sloping  positions,  and 
are  readily  put  in  condition  for  irrigation  farming.     They  are  pro- 
ductive and  are  desirable  above  all  the  other  soils  of  the  state. 

The  old  transported  soils  form  about  one-third  of  the  arable  soils 
of  California.  These  soils  occupy  undulating  or  rolling  topography 
with  some  hilly  and  broken  areas.  They  have  subsoils  that  are  dis- 
tinctly heavier  and  more  clayey  than  the  surface  soils,  and  over  one- 
half  of  their  area  is  underlaid  by  hardpans  at  depths  of  from  two  to 
four  feet  below  the  surface. 


HARDPAN 


SOIL 


Fig.  6. — A  hardpan  layer  with 
loose  soil  material  beneath  it. 
Breaking  up  the  hardpan  will 
allow  roots  and  water  to  enter  the 
substratum  of  good  soil. 


31 


Wr^, 


IJlli 


SOIL 


CEHEf^TED 
GRAVEL, 
SAND. 
AND  CLAY 


In  most  cases  the  material  beneath  the  hard  pan  is  loose  soil  very 
similar  to  that  above  the  hardpan  (fig.  6),  and  if  the  pan  is  broken 
by  dynamite  or  other  means,  irrigation  waters  and  plant  roots  may 
readily  work  down  into  the  underlying  soil  mass.  In  snch  cases  the 
hardpan  is  not  a  serious  factor  as  it  ordinarily  re-cements  very  slowly. 
In  some  cases  the  hardpan  is  underlaid  by  a  compact,  semi-cemented 
layer  of  soil,  sand,  and  gravel  that 
is  practically  impenetrable  to  water 
or  to  plant  roots.  (See  fig.  7.) 
With  such  soils,  dynamiting  the 
hardpan  is  of  little  or  no  value  as 
there  is  no  good  soil  beneath  for 
the  roots  to  penetrate  and  no  oppor- 
tunity for  drainage  or  aeration 
through  the  substratum. 

There  is  another  class  of  hard- 
pan  that  occurs  where  variations  in 
the  soil-forming  activities  caused  a 
layer  of  soil  to  be  deposited,  then 
a  layer  of  material  that  cemented 
to  a  hardpan,  then  another  layer 
of  soil,  another  layer  of  hardpan, 
and  so  on.  (Fig.  8.)  These  hard- 
pan  layers  are  hard  to  handle,  as 
blasting  is  not  satisfactory  unless 
each  of  the  layers  is  broken.  The 
hardpan  layers  do  not,  however, 
exist  as  continuous  sheets  because 
in  the  process  of  formation  of  the 
soil,  portions  were  washed  away, 
the  space  being  filled  with  other 
soil  materials.  This,  together  with 
the  fact  that  the  hardpan  is  often 
cracked  and  sometimes  rather  soft, 
gives  opportunity  for  irrigation 
water  and  plant  roots  to  penetrate 
to  considerable  depths. 

Most  of  the  old  transported  soils  have  medium  textures,  with  about 
one-third  of  a  heavy  texture  and  with  very  few  areas  of  coarse  sandy 
nature.  The  soils  are  productive  but  root  and  water  penetration  is 
retarded  by  the  heavy  subsoils  or  by  the  handpans,  and  their  uneven 
topography  makes  irrigation  difficult  and  expensive.     They  give  good 


Fig.  7. — Hardpan  layer  with 
compact  material  beneath.  Break- 
ing the  hardpan  will  be  of  little 
benefit  because  of  the  cemented 
nature  of  the  substratum. 


ikmmioiL 


mm 


mmm         ''.'"C S0,L 


HARDPAN 


Fig.  8. — Soil  with  several  layers  of 
hardpan  with  soil  between  the  layers. 


32 

results  with  most  of  the  crops  of  the  state,  and  when  their  natural 
handicaps  are  overcome,  they  closely  approach  the  recent  soils  in 
agricultural  value. 

Alkali. — Wherever  drainage  conditions  are  poor  and  there  is  a 
larger  amount  of  water  passing  from  the  surface  by  evaporation 
than  passes  down  through  the  soil  mass,  there  is  the  possibility  of  an 
accumulation  of  soluble  material  or  "alkali"  on  the  surface.  The 
term  ' '  alkali, ' '  as  ordinarily  used,  includes  any  soluble  inorganic  salts 
present  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  injurious  to  plants.  The  most 
common  materials  are  sodium  chloride  or  common  salt,  sodium  sul- 
phate or  Glaubers  salt,  and  sodium  carbonate  or  washing  soda.  This 
"alkali"  is  not  necessarily  brought  into  the  soil  from  some  other 
location.  It  is  merely  a  result  of  a  regrouping  of  the  chemicals  that 
existed  in  the  original  rock,  and  the  concentration  of  these  compounds 
in  the  surface  soil  because  of  excessive  evaporation. 

If  the  soil  has  good  natural  drainage,  any  excess  of  water  will 
percolate  through  the  soil  and  will  seep  out  to  the  country  drainage 
channels,  carrying  with  it  in  solution,  small  quantities  of  the  soluble 
salts.  In  such  cases,  the  waters  evaporated  from  the  surface  cannot 
exceed  the  amount  that  passes  down  through  the  soil,  and  alkali 
accumulations  cannot  occur. 

If  the  natural  drainage  conditions  are  not  good,  artificial  drainage 
will  be  necessary  if  the  land  is  to  be  irrigated  and  farmed.  In  arid 
regions,  the  irrigation  of  poorly  drained  lands  will  produce  conditions 
that  will  ultimately  bring  about  the  accumulation  of  injurious  amounts 
of  alkali.  It  is  necessary  to  study  the  drainage  conditions  carefully, 
noting  the  character  of  the  soil  with  respect  to  permeability  and  the 
penetration  of  water,  the  character  of  the  substratum,  the  slope  of 
the  land  and  the  possible  outlet  for  drainage  waters.  The  possibility 
of  drainage  waters  seeping  into  the  soil  from  higher  lying  lands  should 
also  be  investigated. 

The  soils  of  California  taken  as  a  whole  are  exceedingly  pro- 
ductive. They  may  be  compared  to  the  rich  bottom  lands  of  the 
humid  regions.  The  unfavorable  conditions  that  may  exist,  such  as 
hardpan,  alkali,  poor  drainage,  poor  structure,  etc.,  can  be  readily 
recognized.  The  presence  of  alkali  can  be  determined  by  chemical 
tests  or  by  noting  the  character  of  the  vegetation  and  the  condition 
of  the  surface  soil.  Drainage  conditions,  texture  and  structure,  and 
the  presence  of  hardpan  can  be  determined  by  examining  the  soil, 
boring  in  it  with  a  soil  auger  (fig.  4).  The  prospective  settler  should 
not  be  content  with  a  single  examination  of  the  surface  soil,  but  should 
bore  frequently,  examining  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  at  least  six  feet  and 


33 

carefully  noting  conditions,  bearing  in  mind  that  plants  that  would  in 
a  humid  region  send  their  roots  two  or  three  feet  into  the  soil,  will 
here  have  a  root  penetration  of  six  to  twelve  or  more  feet. 

IEEIGATION7 

As  a  general  rule,  irrigation  is  either  a  valuable  aid  to  agriculture 
or  a  necessity  throughout  California,  so  that  the  settler  should  look 
carefully  into  everything  that  pertains  to  the  extent,  reliability, 
permanency,  and  cost  of  an  irrigation  water  supply  for  his  farm. 

Generally  it  is  no  longer  possible  in  California  to  obtain  indepen- 
dent individual  water  supplies  for  irrigation  by  direct  diverson  from 
streams.  Usually,  therefore,  the  settler  must  obtain  his  irrigation 
water  (a)  by  residence  within  a  municipal  irrigation  district,  within 
which  all  landowners  share  equally  in  the  district  water  supply,  and 
all  legally  qualified  voters  have  an  equal  voice  in  its  control  and 
management;  (6)  by  purchasing  stock  in  a  mutual,  non-profit-making 
water  company  having  water  available,  in  which  case  the  water 
usually  becomes  appurtenant  to  the  particular  farm  or  the  particular 
tract  irrigated,  and  the  water  users  immediately  or  ultimately  (de- 
pending on  how  much  land  within  the  tract  or  project  has  been  sold) 
control  the  water  system;  (c)  by  contracting  with  a  commercial  water 
compaany  for  water  service,  or  (d)  by  means  of  a  well  and  pumping 
plant  developed  or  to  be  developed  on  the  farm  purchased. 

No  water  company  can  deliver  more  water  than  it  controls  and 
the  company  undertaking  to  furnish  water,  whether  it  be  a  mutual 
company  or  a  commercial  company  organized  for  profit,  should  be 
required  to  give  evidence  that  it  has  not  "over-sold"  its  supply.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  water  company  "bought  into"  has  in 
it  the  elements,  including  the  financial  resources,  of  regular  and 
reliable  water  service.  If  the  settler  is  counting  on  obtaining  his 
irrigation  supply  from  a  well  on  his  own  farm  he  should  take  all 
possible  means  to  satisfy  himself  that  a  well  will  yield  a  sufficient 
supply  of  good  water  at  a  depth  from  which  he  can  afford  to  pump. 
Unless  the  quality  of  water  obtained  from  wells  is  definitely  known, 
examination  of  the  water  should  be  made  for  injuriors  salts.  Pub- 
lications of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  and  of  the  Irrigation 
Division,  Bureau  of  Public  Roads,  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture,  of  the  California  State  Department  of  Engineering, 
of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  and  of  the  Water  Resources  Branch  of 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey  will  help  in  this  regard. 

The  cost  of  irrigation  water  should  not  be  overlooked  when  figuring 


7  By  Frank  Adams  of  the  Division  of  Irrigation  Investigations. 


34 

on  the  cost  of  developing  a  California  farm.  In  irrigation  districts 
this  cost  is  paid  in  the  form  of  taxes  levied  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
operation,  maintenance,  and  betterments,  and  the  interest,  and  ulti- 
mately also  the  principal,  on  outstanding  bond  issues.  This  may  and 
usually  does  amount  to  several  dollars  per  acre  per  year.  In  the  case 
of  mutual  water  companies,  both  the  initial  cost  of  the  water  stock 
(this  is  sometimes  included  in  the  cost  of  the  land)  and  the  annual 
assessments  or  water  charges  are  involved.  In  some  parts  of  southern 
California  shares  in  the  mutual  companies  cost  at  the  rate  of  $125  to 
$250  per  acre.  The  annual  cost  of  water  to  the  irrigator  obviously 
includes  both  interest  on  this  original  investment  and  the  annual 
maintenance  and  operation  charge.  Under  commercial  or  public- 
utility  water  companies  in  the  Great  Valley  the  annual  charge  for 
water  varies  from  50  cents  to  about  $2.25  per  acre.  Where  water  is 
paid  for  by  the  acre-foot  (the  quantity  that  will  cover  one  acre  one 
foot  deep),  $1.50  is  not  an  unusual  charge,  although  it  may  be  more 
or  less.  Where  it  is  paid  for  by  the  miner's  inch  (ll1/^  gallons  per 
minute  according  to  California  statute ;  nine  gallons  per  minute — the 
original  miner's  inch  in  California — in  southern  California),  it  may 
cost  a  few  cents  or  it  may  cost  50  or  60  cents  per  inch  running  con- 
tinuously for  twenty-four  hours,  totalling  from  $5  to  $20  or  more  per 
acre  per  year.  Obviously  only  products  yielding  a  high  gross  return 
will  justify  the  larger  of  the  charges  mentioned.  If  an  individual 
pumping  plant  is  to  be  installed  the  usual  initial  cost  of  installation 
for  a  forty-acre  alfalfa  farm  will  vary  from,  say,  $25  to  $40  per  acre 
where  the  lift  does  not  exceed  50  feet.  Circular  No.  117  of  this  station 
gives  information  about  the  cost  of  installing  small  pumping  plants. 
The  amount  of  water  needed  for  irrigation  in  California  cannot 
be  stated  definitely  in  a  few  words  because  it  varies  so  widely,  chiefly 
according  to  soil  and  crop.  When  bargaining  for  certain  quantities 
settlers  should  know  whether  the  water  is  to  be  measured  at  the  point 
of  use  or  at  the  point  it  is  taken  from  the  canal,  possibly  one-half  mile 
away,  for  transit  losses  from  small  earthen  ditches  are  sometimes  very 
large.  For  alfalfa  in  the  central  valley  probably  2y2  acre-feet  per 
year  is  an  average  requirement;  very  heavy  soils  will  not  always 
absorb  this  amount  and  very  light  soils  ordinarily  receive  more,  the 
use  of  four  acre-feet  per  year  not  being  uncommon  and  sometimes 
apparently  not  unreasonable.  Grain  and  cultivated  field  crops,  such 
as  sugar  beets  and  potatoes,  need  less.  Deciduous  orchards  mostly  get 
along  well  with  about  one  acre-foot,  net,  per  year,  where  the  land 
irrigated  is  not  too  steep  and  it  is  well  cultivated ;  citrus  orchards 
sometimes  receive  as  little  as  0.8  acre-foot  per  year  (say  one  miner's 


35 

inch  to  eight  acres  irrigated),  but  more  frequently  are  given  twice 
that  amount.  Settlers  should  not  accept  less  water  than  well-kept 
and  successful  farms  in  the  neighborhood  chosen  are  receiving. 

Finally,  the  settler  without  irrigation  experience  should  not  expect 
to  learn  the  art  of  irrigation  all  at  once.  With  land  well  prepared, 
however,  practice  will  soon  enable  him  to  work  with  the  necessary 
efficiency,  but  he  must  wisely  choose  both  his  methods  of  preparing 
land  and  his  methods  of  applying  water.  Individual  or  community 
advice  in  these  and  other  irrigation  matters  can  be  obtained  free  on 
application  to  the  College  of  Agriculture. 

SUMMARY   OF   ESSENTIAL  FEATURES 

Proofs  of  this  circular  were  submitted  to  W.  Mayo  Newhall,  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Stanford  University,  well  known  in 
California  for  his  large  agricultural  and  other  business  interests,  who 
suggests  the  following  features  as  essential  for  settlers  to  consider: 

1.  Selection  of  kind  of  farming  industry  according  to  former 
experience  or  preference. 

2.  Selection  of  location  best  adapted  to  the  kind  of  farming  indus- 
try desired. 

3.  Desirability  of  location  and  environment  as  suited  to  the  habits 
and  requirements  of  settler  and  members  of  his  family. 

4.  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry.  Spend  some  time  in  a  location  that  seems 
desirable.    Visit  farms  and  get  local  information. 

5.  Means  of  irrigation  necessary  for  some  forms  of  farming  pur- 
suits and  generally  advantageous  for  all  kinds. 

6.  Lands  improved  or  developed  in  whole  or  in  part  bring  returns 
sooner  than  new  or  unimproved  lands. 

7.  Quality  of  land  should  be  considered  insteatd  of  quantity. 

8.  It  is  advisable  not  to  incur  indebtedness  which  might  not  be 
reasonably  liquidated  in  ten  years,  unless  payments  are  amortized 
under  a  land  settlement  or  similar  plan. 

9.  Farming  industries  which  bring  in  quickest  returns  are :  Vege- 
tables, berries  for  export  or  canning,  hog  raising,  dairying,  poultry 
and  annual  crops  like  grain  and  beans. 

10.  If  orchard  industry  is  selected,  interplanting  of  crops  and 
some  diversified  farming  are  sources  of  revenue  pending  the  orchard 
coming  into  bearing. 

11.  Deciduous  fruit  trees,  according  to  variety,  come  into  bearing 
in  paying  production  in  from  four  to  seven  years.  Citrus  fruits  in 
from  five  to  eight  years. 

12.  Consult  with  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  University 
of  California  at  Berkeley,  California. 


36 


CALIFORNIA   CROPS 


Members  of  the  staff  have  prepared  articles  on  the  growing  of 
certain  standard  crops  in  California.  The  plan  has  been  to  give  that 
information  which  an  eastern  man  with  an  actual  knowledge  of  farm- 
ing or  fruit  raising  would  most  need  to  know.  It  is  not  intended  as 
full  information  for  a  beginner.  The  following  are  points  which  each 
specialist  had  in  mind  while  preparing  the  articles : 

Discuss  the  industry  as  it  exists — not  as  it  did  exist  in  the  past,  nor  as  it 
may  exist  in  the  future.     Assume  the  settler  has  decided  to  grow  the  crop. 

Say  nothing  of  its  importance  except  as  an  aid  to  finding  proper  location. 
State  main  objections  to  the  crop  as  an  industry. 

Regions. — Give  important  centers  of  industry.  Name  town  or  towns  it  would 
be  wise  to  visit  in  order  to  see  the  industry  to  best  advantage.  Give  best  climatic 
and  soil  conditions,  especially  things  to  avoid. 

Methods. — State  the  methods  that  are  actually  in  vogue,  not  merely  methods 
that  are  recommended  as  ideal  or  desirable. 

Call  particular  attention  to  methods  with  which  strangers  will  most  likely  be 
unfamilar. 

Tell  things  to  be  guarded  against. 

Size  of  farms  growing  this  crop. 

Mention  location  of  lands  yet  available  for  development. 

Give  ordinary  commercial  value  of  developed  and  undeveloped  lands. 

State  methods  of  renting  and  give  rental  values. 

Give  kinds  of  labor  and  ruling  prices. 

Discuss  methods  of  marketing. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  include  all  the  crops  grown  in  Cali- 
fornia, but  only  a  few  of  those  most  typical  and  representative  of 
the  agriculture  of  the  state.  Even  according  to  this  rule  there  are 
important  omissions. 

The  list  of  crops  discussed  follows : 


Alfalfa 

Deciduous  Fruits 

Potatoes 

Almonds 

Figs 

Rice 

Barley 

Grapes 

Semi-tropical  Fruits 

Beans 

Olives 

Sugar  Beets 

Citrus  Fruits 

Pears 

Vegetables 

Cotton 

Prunes 

Walnuts 

The  production  of  meat  (beef,  pork,  and  mutton),  dairying 
(butter,  cheese,  ice  cream  and  market  milk),  poultry  raising,  and 
beekeeping  have  become  specialized  industries  in  California  and  are 
treated  in  appropriate  groups. 


37 


ALFALFA  CULTURE 
By  B.  A.  Madson,  Assistant  Professor  of  Agronomy 

Alfalfa  is  and  doubtless  always  will  be  the  leading  forage  legume  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  climate  and  soil  conditions  of  this  state  are  eminently  suited  to  its 
growth.  While  these  two  factors  have  doubtless  played  an  important  part  in 
centralizing  the  industry  in  certain  sections  of  the  state,  water  has  in  all 
probability  been  the  controlling  factor.  Modesto,  Turlock,  Merced,  and  Fresno 
are  especially  noted  as  centers  of  alfalfa  production  and  here  also  we  find 
irrigation  highly  developed.  Within  the  past  few  years  the  Imperial  Valley, 
with  its  abundant  supply  of  water,  has  become  an  extensive  producer  of  alfalfa. 
In  the  Sacramento  Valley  also  we  find  that  the  importance  and  production  of 
alfalfa  is  in  direct  ratio  to  the  irrigation  development.  It  is  true  that  in  a 
few  sections  alfalfa  is  successfully  grown  with  natural  sub -irrigation,  but  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection  is  seldom  attained  unless  the  farmer  has  at  his 
command  an  adequate  supply  of  irrigation  water  obtained  either  from  a  ditch 
or  from  wells. 

Alfalfa  is  not  as  exacting  in  its  soil  requirements  as  some  other  crops, 
though  there  are  certain  conditions  which  are  unfavorable  to  its  growth.  It 
thrives  best  on  a  deep,  well-drained  loam  of  uniform  character  and  of  high 
lime  content.  Soils  which  possess  an  impervious  stratum  or  hardpan  near  the 
surface  or  which  have  a  high  water  table  should  be  avoided.  The  alfalfa 
plant  possesses  an  extensive  root  system  and  any  soil  condition  which  interferes 
with  its  free  development  will  materially  check  its  growth.  Acidity  or  excessive 
alkalinity  are,  of  course,  always  objectionable.  The  former  occurs  only  to  a 
limited  extent  in  this  state,  but  the  latter  is  quite  prevalent  and  is  frequently 
associated  with  hardpan. 

The  first  step  in  the  preparation  of  a  field  for  alfalfa  is  to  level  and  check 
for  irrigation.  This  work  should  be  carefully  done,  as  the  success  of  the  crop 
as  well  as  the  cost  of  production  is  affected  in  a  large  measure  by  the  rapidity 
and  uniformity  with  which  the  water  can  be  distributed,  as  well  as  the  ease 
with  which  it  can  be  applied.  Leveling  and  checking  should  always  be  preceded 
by  a  careful  survey  of  the  field.  The  system  of  checks  to  be  used  must  be 
governed  by  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  contour  of  the  field,  and  the  volume 
of  water  available.  The  best  time  to  do  the  leveling  is  in  the  summer  or 
fall  while  the  soil  is  dry.  At  this  season  of  the  year  less  labor  will  be  required 
to  do  the  work,  and  there  is  less  danger  of  injuring  the  physical  condition  of 
the  soil  by  puddling  or  packing  than  when  it  is  wet.  The  cost  of  doing  the 
work  will  vary  greatly,  depending  on  the  character  of  the  field  and  the  amount 
of  soil  to  be  moved,  but  on  the  basis  of  normal  conditions  should  not  exceed 
$20  to  $25  an  acre  as  an  average. 

After  leveling  the  checks  should  be  plowed  to  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten 
inches  to  provide  sufficient  loose  soil  for  a  good  seed  bed.  If  water  is  available 
in  the  late  summer  or  early  fall,  it  is  a  common  practice  to  irrigate  the  land, 
prepare  the  seed  bed  as  soon  as  possible  after  irrigation,  and  then  seed  the 
alfalfa.  Alfalfa  seeded  by  the  middle  of  September  will  usually  attain  sufficient 
growth  before  winter  to  withstand  the  frost.  The  more  common  practice, 
however,  is  to  level,  check,  and  plow  the  land  in  the  fall,  and  then  allow  it  to 


38 

lie  idle  until  about  the  first  of  March,  when  the  seed  bed  is  prepared  with  a 
disc  and  harrow  and  the  alfalfa  seeded  at  the  rate  of  twenty  pounds  per  acre. 

Ordinarily  but  little  attention  is  necessary  after  the  seed  has  been  planted. 
During  the  first  season  the  young  alfalfa  should  be  irrigated  sparingly  to 
encourage  deep  root  development.  When  once  established,  however,  it  should 
be  irrigated  regularly  to  assure  rapid  uniform  growth.  Under  normal  con- 
ditions one  irrigation  per  cutting  is  ample,  but  upon  light  soil  two  irrigations 
may  prove  more  efficient.  After  the  first  year  alfalfa  will  usually  respond 
readily  to  winter  cultivation,  which  helps  to  destroy  weeds  and  loosens  up 
the  soil,   affording  better  aeration   and   encouraging  bacterial  action. 

Upon  well-established  alfalfa  fields  five  to  seven  cuttings  are  obtained  per 
season.  The  crop  should  be  cut  when  one-tenth  in  bloom,  or  when  the  new 
shoots  appear  at  the  crown.  Under  normal  conditions  four  to  six  tons  of  hay 
per  acre  may  be  considered  a  fair  season 's  yield,  though  with  good  cultural 
methods  and  favorable  conditions  eight  and  ten  tons  are  not  impossible. 

The  cost  of  preparing  the  seed  bed  and  seeding  the  crop,  together  with  the 
cost  of  the  seed  is,  at  the  present  time,  about  $8  to  $10  per  acre.  The  average 
cost  of  handling  the  hay  crop,  including  irrigation,  is  probably  about  $4.50  to 
$6  per  ton,  though  this  may  vary  considerably  with  local  conditions. 

The  alfalfa  fields  of  California  vary  from  a  few  acres  to  several  hundred 
acres  in  size.  The  smaller  tracts  usually  constitute  a  part  of  some  diversified 
type  of  farming,  the  bulk  of  the  product  being  fed  on  the  farm.  In  such  cases 
the  present  tendency  is  to  include  alfalfa  in  a  definite  rotation  system,  allowing 
it  to  occupy  the  land  for  a  period  of  from  four  to  six  years,  after  which  it 
is  plowed  up  and  the  land  planted  to  some  other  crop.  As  the  yield  and 
quality  of  hay  usually  declines  rapidly  after  the  fifth  or  sixth  year,  such  a 
practice  is  highly  commendable,  not  only  because  of  the  greater  returns  from 
the  alfalfa,  but  because  of  the  marked  beneficial  effect  on  the  succeeding  crop. 
On  the  larger  tracts  alfalfa  is  more  often  regarded  as  a  permanent  crop  and 
is  allowed  to  occupy  the  land  as  long  as  it  will  yield  profitable  returns.  As 
the  alfalfa  becomes  older,  however,  more  care  and  cultivation  is  required  to 
control  weeds  and  keep  the  crop  in  a  healthy  growing  condition.  In  but  few 
instances  in  the  state  does  an  alfalfa  field  remain  profitable  after  the  tenth  year. 

In  either  case,  however,  alfalfa  production  is  both  desirable  and  profitable, 
giving  good  returns  and  providing  employment  for  both  men  and  team  during 
a  large  portion  of  the  year.  The  labor  required  to  handle  the  crop  will  vary 
with  the  size  of  the  tract  and  the  equipment  available;  usually,  however,  it 
requires  two  men  and  two  teams  to  every  forty  acres  throughout  the  growing 
season. 

The  rental  price  of  alfalfa  land  varies  from  $15  to  $20  per  acre,  depending 
upon  the  locality.  In  a  few  cases  where  intensive  dairying  is  practiced  and 
the  alfalfa  hay  is  fed  on  the  ranch  $25  an  acre  is  secured.  Eenting  on  shares 
is  not  as  common  as  with  grain  land,  though  it  is  practiced  to  some  extent, 
the  owner  receiving  one-third  of  the  crop  and  in  nearly  all  cases  supplying 
the  water. 

Developed  alfalfa  land  favorably  located  and  in  good  condition  commands 
a  price  of  from  $250  to  $300  per  acre.  There  is,  however,  still  considerable 
undeveloped  land  in  many  of  the  alfalfa  growing  sections  of  the  state,  which 
can  be  purchased  for  $150  to  $200.  Higher  prices  should  not  be  paid  unless  it 
has  been  proved  that  the  conditions  are  especially  well  adapted  to  the  pro- 


39 

duction  of  the  crop.  There  are  suitable  areas  for  growing  alfalfa  which  will, 
in  all  probability,  be  eventually  used  for  that  purpose,  though  not  at  present 
considered  within  the  alfalfa  growing  sections,  which  can  be  purchased  for 
$100  per  acre  or  less. 


THE  ALMOND 
By  E.  H.  Taylor,  Assistant  Professor  of  Pomology 

The  almond  can  be  grown  only  in  limited  areas,  owing  to  its  susceptibility 
to  frost.  This  is  not  due,  as  often  supposed,  to  any  greater  tenderness  of  the 
blossoms  or  young  fruit,  but  to  the  fact  that  this  tree  is  the  earliest  of  all  our 
tree  fruits  to  bloom  in  the  spring,  thus  rendering  it  liable  to  more  severe  frosts 
than  fruits  which  bloom  later. 

The  localities  where  the  almond  succeeds  best  are  where  there  are  no  late 
spring  frosts.  Lowlands  should  be  avoided  because  of  the  settling  of  cold  air 
in  these  spots,  causing  later  and  more  severe  frosts  than  in  adjacent  higher 
land.  Rolling  hills  just  back  from  the  lower  levels  of  our  large  interior  valleys 
and  the  alluvial  fans  projecting  out  from  the  hills,  furnish  the  larger  portions 
of  our  safe  almond  localities.  Where  large  streams  have  built  up  the  general 
level  along  their  banks  far  out  into  the  main  valleys  freedom  from  frosts  is 
again  marked. 

The  soil  best  suited  to  the  almond  is  a  deep  loam  which  is  free  from 
hardpan,  or  gravelly  substrata,  and  at  all  times  well  drained.  The  almond 
will  not  endure  standing  water  around  its  roots  for  any  length  of  time  and 
especially  during  its  long  growing  season.  The  lighter  soils,  therefore,  are 
the  ones  which  should  be  sought.  Too  light  a  soil  is  equally  undesirable, 
in  being  unable  to  retain  a  sufficiently  uniform  moisture  content. 

In  the  most  favorable  soils  the  almond  is  grown  on  the  almond  root.  Where 
the  soil  is  inclined  to  be  variable  in  character  at  different  depths,  where  it  is 
less  than  8  to  12  feet  deep,  where  irrigation  is  practiced,  or  wherever  the 
water  content  in  the  soil  is  noticeably  variable,  the  peach  root  is  used.  The 
Myrobalan  plum  root  is  not  satisfactory  as  a  stock.  Plantings  on  heary  soils 
do  not  ordinarily  do  well  unless  surface  and  sub-surface  drainage  is  unusually 
satisfactory. 

Almonds  should  be  planted  30  feet  apart  for  best  results. 

After  planting,  the  tree  is  generally  headed  to  18  to  24  inches  above 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  leaving  three  or  four  branches  well  spaced  up 
and  down  and  around  the  trunk.  These  branches  are  then  headed  back 
moderately  to  serve  as  a  foundation  for  the  branching  framework  of  the 
future  tree.  If  thoroughly  satisfactory  branches  cannot  be  found,  prune  to  a 
whip  and  during  the  first  summer,  about  May,  choose  main  framework  branches 
and  thin  out  or  cut  back  all  the  others  to  a  subordinate  place.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  year  head  the  main  framework  branches  moderately  heavy  and  then 
head  these  lightly  during  the  second  summer,  about  May,  when  they  have 
made  from  18  to  24  inches  growth.  After  this  limit  all  pruning  to  winter 
thinning  out  to  secure  well  shaped,  reasonably  open  trees.  Encourage  fruiting 
well  down  to  the  center  of  the  tree. 

The  trees  should  come  into  profitable  bearing  about  the  fifth  or  sixth  year. 

Harvesting,   which   commences   a   little   before   the    middle    of   August    and 


40 

continues  in  the  various  varieties  until  the  middle  of  September,  is  done  by- 
knocking  with  long  poles  on  to  sheets  spread  under  the  trees.  From  here 
the  nuts  go  to  the  huller,  where  they  are  separated  from  the  hulls,  then  dried, 
bleached  and   sacked  for  shipment. 

Late  ripening  varieties  will  not  do  in  regions  subject  to  early  rains  or  where 
fogs  are  prevalent,  as  the  shells  are  darkened  too  much.  In  choosing  varieties 
plant  several  varieties  together  to  secure  cross-pollination.  All  varieties  are 
self-sterile  and  a  few  others,  like  the  Nonpareil  and  I.  X.  L.,  Languedoc  and 
Texas,  and  possibly  others,  are  inter-sterile.  Ne  Plus  Ultra  and  Drake  make 
thoroughly  practical  pollenizers  for  Nonpareil,  I.  X.  L.,  etc. 

The  most  important  pest  of  the  almond  is  the  Eed  Spider,  of  which  there 
are  two  kinds.  One  kind  spends  its  entire  life  on  the  trees  and  may  be  con- 
trolled largely  with  a  winter  spray  of  lime-sulphur  or  crude  oil  emulsion.  The 
other  spends  only  the  summer  on  the  tree  and  may  be  controlled  by  spraying 
with  "Atomic  Sulphur"  or  with  dry  sulphur  dusted  on  the  trees  late  in  June 
or  early  in  July. 

Eoot  knot  and  oak  fungus  (Armillaria)  must  also  be  guarded  against  when 
the  trees  are  being  planted. 

The  almond  is  grown  on  farms  ranging  from  an  acre  or  two  up  to  one 
hundred  or  more  acres.     The  average  orchard  is  not  over  thirty  acres. 

Good  unimproved  land  for  almond  culture  which  is  not  subject  to  spring 
frosts  may  be  purchased  for  from  $150  to  $500  per  acre.  Land  with  trees  in 
bearing  runs  from  $200  to  $600  per  acre  and  over. 

Marketing  of  the  crop  has  been  stabilized  and  greatly  improved  by  the 
California  Almond  Growers  Exchange,  with  offices  in  San  Francisco.  This  is 
a  purely  cooperative,  non-profit  organization  of  over  2000  growers,  representing 
well  over  75  per  cent  of  the  growers  of  the  state.  For  further  information  see 
Cal.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta.  Bull.  No.  297,  entitled  "Almond  Culture,"  by  E.  H. 
Taylor,  which  will  be  sent  upon  application  free  of  charge. 


BAELEY  PEODUCTION 
By  B.  A.  Madson,  Assistant  Professor  of  Agronomy 

Barley  is  the  leading  cereal  crop  in  California  and  its  production,  like  that 
of  the  other  small  grains,  is  confined  to  the  drier  sections  of  the  state  where 
irrigation  has  not  been  developed.  It  is  only  in  rare  instances  that  the  crop 
is  irrigated,  because  after  land  has  been  brought  under  irrigation  it  becomes 
too  valuable  to  be  used  for  barley. 

The  ability  of  barley  to  grow  under  conditions  of  limited  rainfall  has 
doubtless  played  an  important  part  in  centralizing  the  industry  in  those  sections 
of  the  state  where  the  annual  precipitation  is  low.  Thus  we  find  the  greatest 
production  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  in  the  vicinity  of  Stockton,  Merced,  and 
Madera.  It  is  also  grown  extensively  near  Yolo,  Colusa,  and  Tehama,  in  the 
Sacramento  Valley,  and  near  Gonzales,  Monterey  County,  on  the  coast. 

Barley  thrives  best  in  a  relatively  warm,  dry  climate  and,  fortunately,  such 
is  the  prevailing  climate  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  state.  In  its  soil 
requirements  barley  is  more  exacting  than  most  crops.  It  prefers  a  rich,  fertile 
loam,  well  drained  and  rather  light  in  character.    Soils  that  are  low  in  fertility, 


41 

extremely  light,  or  extremely  heavy,  or  soils  that  remain  cold  and  damp  for 
a  long  period  during  the  winter  should  be  avoided  for  this  crop.  The  barley 
plant  has  a  rather  delicate  root  system  and  any  adverse  soil  condition  is  apt 
to  seriously  affect  the  growth  of  the  plant. 

The  dominant  feature  which  characterizes  barley  culture  in  this  state  is 
mass  production  rather  than  the  maximum  production  per  unit  area.  The  grain 
farms  are  all  large,  varying  from  a  few  hundred  to  several  thousand  acres  in 
size.  To  handle  such  large  areas  with  a  minimum  of  labor  the  methods  and 
implements  used  must  be  such  as  will  enable  the  farmer  to  cover  the  most 
ground  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  Such  methods,  however,  always  result 
in  improper  preparation  of  the  land.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  been  true  in 
the  past  that  the  physical  condition  of  the  majority  of  our  grain  soils  has 
been  seriously  injured,  prematurely  reducing  their  crop  producing  power.  In 
many  sections,  however,  there  is  at  the  present  time  a  marked  change  taking 
place.  The  tendency  is  toward  a  reduction  of  the  area  per  unit  of  labor,  better 
preparation  of  the  land,  and  a  more  frequent  use  of  the  summer  fallow,  all  of 
which  is  being  rewarded  in  greater  profits. 

For  barley  the  land  should  be  plowed  to  a  depth  of  six  to  eight  inches  in 
the  fall  or  early  winter,  either  before  the  rainy  season  begins  or  as  soon  after  as 
possible.  As  soon  as  the  soil  has  been  moistened  sufficiently  to  work  properly 
the  field  should  be  worked  down  to  a  good  seed  bed  with  a  disk  and  harrow, 
and  the  barley  seeded  with  a  drill  as  quickly  as  possible.  While  barley  can 
be  seeded  later  than  wheat  or  oats,  the  highest  yield  will  always  be  obtained 
by  early  seeding,  preferably  before  the  first  of  January.  The  rate  of  seeding 
varies  from  50  to  120  pounds  per  acre,  depending  on  the  character  of  the  soil 
and  the  seasonal  precipitation.  After  seeding  no  further  attention  is  ordinarily 
necessary,  though  if  the  soil  is  heavy  and  inclined  to  crust  it  is  a  good  practice 
to  harrow  the  field  after  the  plants  attain  a  height  of  four  to  six  inches. 

The  use  of  the  fallow  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  most  effective  means 
at  our  command  for  maintaining  the  crop  producing  power  of  our  grain  land. 
Land  to  be  fallowed  should  be  plowed  as  deep  as  possible  in  the  fall  or  early 
winter  and  allowed  to  lie  idle  until  spring.  During  the  spring  and  summer  it 
should  be  worked  occasionally  with  surface  tillage  implements  to  destroy  weeds 
and  establish  and  maintain  a  mulch.  If  properly  handled  it  may  then  be 
seeded  the  following  fall  in  the  usual  manner  without  additional  preparation. 
Fallowing  serves  as  a  rotation  measure,  renovating  the  soil,  destroying  weeds, 
and  conserving  moisture.  For  the  best  results  land  should  be  fallowed  every 
second  or  third  year,  depending  on  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  rainfall. 
One-third  to  one-half  of  the  field  should  be  fallowed  each  season. 

Barley  is  usually  harvested  with  a  combined  harvester  which  cuts,  threshes, 
and  sacks  the  grain  ready  for  market  at  a  single  operation.  Five  to  six  men 
are  required  to  run  the  outfit  and  can  harvest  from  twenty-five  to  forty  acres 
per  day.  Barley  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe  to  avoid  undue  loss 
by  shattering. 

Under  continuous  cropping  fifteen  sacks  may  be  considered  an  average 
yield.  In  some  cases  twenty  sacks  may  be  obtained,  but  more  often  the  yield 
is  only  ten  to  twelve  sacks  per  acre.  On  fallowed  land  yields  will  vary 
from  twenty-five  to  forty  sacks  or  more,  though  normally  thirty  sacks  is 
considered  goods 


42 

At  the  present  time  the  cost  of  plowing,  disking,  harrowing,  and  seeding, 
together  with  the  cost  of  the  seed,  is  about  $6  per  acre.  The  cost  of  har- 
vesting a  fifteen-sack  crop,  including  sacks  and  hauling,  is  about  $6.50,  making 
the  total  cost  of  these  items  $12.50  per  acre.  The  cost  of  maintaining  the 
fallow  and  growing  and  handling  a  thirty-sack  crop  is  about  $17,  so  that 
the  net  return  in  the  latter  case  will  be  considerably  greater  than  in  the  former. 

Barley  farming  as  a  business  must  be  conducted  on  relatively  low  priced 
land,  as  profitable  returns  cannot  be  obtained  on  a  valuation  of  more  than 
$75  to  $100  per  acre.  Then,  too,  the  farm  must  be  relatively  large.  To  yield 
the  operation  a  paying  income  a  farm  of  at  least  200  to  250  acres  is  necessary. 

The  usual  basis  for  renting  grain  land  is  on  shares,  the  owner  requiring 
one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  crop;  which  means  that  normally  eight  to  ten 
sacks  must  cover  the  cost  of  production  and,  besides,  leave  something  to 
the  farmer  for  his  trouble. 

The  principal  advantage  in  favor  of  grain  farming  is  that  it  requires  a 
minimum  of  labor  and  a  comparatively  small  outlay  for  equipment.  The  only 
time  help  is  required  is  during  seeding  and  harvesting,  and  sufficient  labor  of 
the  transient  type  can  usually  be  obtained  for  from  $2.25  to  $3  per  day.  On 
the  other  hand,  with  grain  as  the  dominant  feature,  the  equipment  must  neces- 
sarily lie  idle  the  greater  portion  of  the  year,  so  that  its  total  cost  must  be 
charged  against  the  grain  crop.  It  is,  however,  the  type  of  farming  best 
adapted  to  a  large  portion  of  our  unirrigated  land,  and  requires  but  relatively 
little  capital  at  the  start. 

There  is  still  considerable  undeveloped  land  suitable  for  this  type  of  farming 
available  in  the  foothill  regions  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys, 
as  well  as  in  some  of  the  smaller,  more  isolated  valleys  of  the  state,  which  can 
be  purchased  for  from  $40  to  $60  per  acre.  In  the  developed  sections,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  but  little  land  available  for  less  than  $100  per  acre. 


BEAN  CULTUEE 
By  John  W.  Gilmore,  Professor  of  Agronomy 

Bean  culture  in  California  may  be  considered  under  two  heads,  namely, 
field  bean  culture  and  Lima  bean  culture.  While  the  soils  and  culture  methods 
for  these  two  types  of  beans  are  similar,  they  differ  materially  in  respect  to 
their  requirements  for  temperature  and  moisture,  including  humidity. 

Lima  Beans. — Mainly  because  of  this  difference  the  Lima  bean  is  most 
extensively  produced  in  the  counties  along  the  coast,  including  San  Diego, 
Orange,  Los  Angeles,  Ventura.  In  these  counties  the  valley  soils  are  deep 
and  strong,  and  the  peculiar  requisite  moisture  conditions  are  afforded  by 
frequent  fogs  from  the  ocean.  The  summer  temperature  in  these  bean  sections 
is  tempered,  especially  in  respect  to  its  uniformity,  by  ocean  winds.  This 
industry  may  be  most  profitably  investigated  in  the  vicinity  of  Ventura,  Los 
Angeles,  and  Oxnard.  In  California  the  climatic  conditions  are  more  important 
as  a  limiting  factor  in  the  production  of  Lima  beans  than  the  soil,  except  in 
eases  where  the  soil  is  unsuitable  because  of  an  alkali  condition. 

Culture  Methods. — The  bean  is  a  relatively  deep-rooted  plant,  hence  deep 
preparation  of  the  soil  is  an  important  factor  in  the  production  of  the  crop. 
The  land  is  plowed   from   six  to   eight   or   more   inches   deep   as   early  in   the 


43 

autumn  as  is  rendered  possible  by  the  rains.  The  land  is  left  with  rough, 
untreated  surface  during  the  winter  months,  in  order  to  impound  as  much  of 
the  winter  rains  as  possible.  During  February  and  March,  when  most  of  the 
rains  are  over,  the  surface  is  worked  a  number  of  times  to  smooth  it  down,  to 
kill  early  germinating  weeds,  and  to  prepare  the  surface  for  the  conservation 
of  the  stored  moisture  and  for  the  planting  of  the  seed.  The  work  that  has 
been  expended  upon  the  land  up  to  this  time  comprises  the  major  portion  of 
the  culture  that  the  crop  will  receive,  and  this  is  very  important,  for  thorough 
preparation  in  bean  culture  is  more  than  half  the  labor  insuring  a  crop. 
In  Lima  bean  culture  this  thorough  preparation  is  all  the  more  necessary 
because  little  or  no  rain  falls  in  the  regions  mentioned  between  the  planting 
and  the  harvesting  of  the  crop.  ^v 

Planting  is  usually  best  accomplished  during  the  earlier  days  of  May.  By 
this  time  the  soil  has  become  warm  and  the  free  water  has  distributed  itself 
through  the  soil.  If  beans  are  planted  in  cold,  wet  soil  they  will  rot,  or  at 
best  the  plants  will  be  non-uniform  and  retarded  in  their  growth.  From 
forty  to  sixty  pounds  of  seed  are  used  per  acre,  according  to  the  size  (the 
variety)  of  the  seed  and  the  physical  condition  and  the  strength  of  the  soil. 
With  optimum  physical  condition  and  moisture  content  less  seed  is  required, 
for  the  fewer  plants  will  cover  the  ground  better  and  yield  more.  The  rows 
are  arranged  from  thirty  to  thirty-six  inches  apart  and  the  beans  are  planted 
and  thinned  so  as  to  stand  eight  or  twelve  inches  apart  in  the  row.  On  the 
stronger  and  moister  soils  the  wider  distances  are  given.  Two  inches  is  about 
the  right  depth  of  planting. 

During  the  growing  season  the  crop  is  given  several  shallow  cultivations 
until  the  vines  cover  the  ground  and  during  this  period  also  one  or  two 
irrigations  are  given,  unless  through  excellent  preparation  of  the  soil  or 
abundant  winter  rains  the  growing  crop  does  not  need  the  moisture.  On 
account  of  the  absence  of  rainfall  during  the  growing  season,  Lima  beans 
in  California  do  not  have  to  be  staked. 

Lima  beans  ripen  from  August  25th  to  September  25th.  When  the  pods 
have  matured  and  begun  to  turn  yellow,  the  vines  are  cut  just  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  soil  and  are  afterward  thrown  into  small  piles  for  ripening 
and  curing.  In  cutting,  from  five  to  six  acres  per  day  is  considered  a  day's 
work,  while  in  piling  a  man  will  accomplish  from  three  to  four  acres. 

Threshing  is  usually  accomplished  by  itinerant  threshing  outfits,  putting 
up  .from  1000  to  2500  sacks  per  day.  The  charge  is  from  35  to  50  cents  per 
sack,   according  to  location   or   accessibility. 

The  yield  of  Lima  beans  may  range  from  twelve  to  thirty  sacks  (100 
pounds  each)  per  acre.  The  average  is  about  fourteen  sacks.  The  farmer's 
selling  price  ranges  from  4  to  6  cents  per  pound.  The  cost  of  production  ranges 
from  $18  to  $25  per  acre.  On  the  basis  of  net  returns  Lima  bean  land  is 
worth  from  $250  to  $500  per  acre. 

This  crop  is  produced  on  farms  of  all  sizes,  from  small  areas  of  five  and 
ten  acres  to  large  estates  operated  by  corporations.  The  implements  of  culture 
and  production  are  not  expensive.  When  land  is  rented  the  tenant  usually 
furnishes  everything  and  retains  two-thirds  of  the  crop. 

Field  Beans. — There  are  eleven  varieties  of  field  beans  of  commercial  im- 
portance grown  in  California,  with  a  few  additional  commercial  varieties  of 
lesser  importance.     These  are  in  order  of  their  production: 


44 

Pink   Sacramento  Valley  and  Stockton  Delta 

Small  White Pajaro,  Salinas  and  Lompoc  Valleys. 

Lady  Washington Sutter,  Colusa,  Sacramento  and  Contra  Costa  Counties. 

Black  Eye  (Cow  pea)....Throughout   the   interior    valleys,    lowlands   along   the 

Sacramento  Eiver  and  streams. 

Cranberry   About  the  same  range  as  above. 

Garbanzo  Sutter  County  and  Stockton  Delta. 

Red    Mexican Range   about   same   as  Pink,   except   rare   in   southern 

California. 

Red   Kidney Range  about  same  as  Bayou. 

White    Tepary Throughout  the  central  valleys  on  dry  lands. 

Horse  bean Bay  region  and  central  Coast. 

Climate,  soil  and  moisture  are  the  principal  factors  that  influence  the 
distribution  of  these  varieties.  The  bean  grower  must  choose  those  varieties 
that  are  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  his  locality. 

What  has  been  said  regarding  the  preparation  of  the  land,  culture  methods 
and  care  of  the  crop  for  Lima  beans  applies  equally  well  for  field  beans. 
Among  the  varieties  mentioned  may  be  found  those  adapted  to  various  soils; 
but  generally  the  light,  sandy  soils  and  the  adobes  are  not  suitable  to  beans 
because  of  the  poor  moisture-holding  qualities  of  the  former  and  the  difficulties 
of  keeping  the  latter  in  good  physical  conditions  during  the  summer  months. 

The  major  acreage  of  field  beans  is  not  irrigated,  but  on  the  drier  lands 
and  for  those  planted  late  one  or  two  irrigations  add  much  to  the  yield.  The 
usual  practice  is  to  conserve  the  moisture  required  by  suitable  cultivation. 

A  satisfactory  yield  of  field  beans  is  about  1400  pounds  per  acre,  though 
on  account  of  climate  and  soils  the  yield  varies  greatly,  2500  pounds  per 
acre  being  frequently  produced.  The  farm  price  varies  with  the  variety  from 
3  cents  to  8  cents  per  pound. 

The  cost  of  production  of  field  beans  varies  more  widely  than  for  Lima 
beans,  mainly  owing  to  variation  in  soil  conditions.  The  most  usual  figure 
is  between   $15   and   $18  per   acre. 


CITRUS  FRUITS 
By  J.  Eliot  Coit,  Professor  of  Citriculture 

There  are  about  200,000  acres  planted  to  citrus  fruits  in  California,  the 
proportion  of  lemons  to  oranges  being  as  1  to  4.  There  are  about  10,000  citrus 
growers,  the  average  holding  being  therefore  about  twenty  acres.  The  annual 
shipments  are  now  about  50,000  cars,  or  21,500,000  boxes,  being  approximately 
one-sixth  of  the  world's  supply. 

Citrus  fruits  are  grown  in  favorable  localities  from  San  Diego  County  to 
Shasta  County.  The  localities  are  in  the  order  of  present  importance:  (1)  the 
area  enclosed  in  and  adjacent  to  a  triangle  drawn  through  Pasadena,  Redlands, 
and  Santa  Ana;  (2)  the  eastern  foothills  of  Tulare  County;  (3)  Ventura  and 
Santa  Barbara  counties;  (4)  San  Diego  County;  (5)  Butte  County.  There  are 
a  great  many  smaller  areas  scattered  through  the  state  which  are  well  suited 
to  citrus  fruits.  The  industry  is  older  in  southern  California  and  there  the 
lands  and  water  have  been  further  developed  and  prices  of  land  and  water 


45 

are  much  higher  than  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  state.  The  cost 
of  land  varies  from  $150  to  $500  an  acre  and  water  rights  from  $75  to  $300 
or  more.  It  costs  to  establish  an  orchard  and  care  for  it  through  the  first  five 
years  from  $800  to  $1200  per  acre  in  southern  California  and  from  $500  to 
$900  per  acre  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

It  is  not  the  custom  to  rent  citrus  properties  in  California.  The  labor  in 
California  citrus  groves  is  done  principally  by  Americans,  although  a  good 
many  Mexicans,  Italians,  and  Orientals  are  employed.  Foremen  receive  from 
$75  to  $125  per  month,  teamsters  from  $65  to  $80,  irrigators  from  $3.00  to  $3.50 
per  day,  primers  from  $3.00  to  $4.50  per  day,  picking  foreman  from  $3.00  to 
$4.50,  pickers  from  $2.50  to  $3.50,  and  fumigators  from  25  to  50  cents  per  hour. 
Ordinary  labor  is  paid  $2.50  to  $3.50  per  day. 

Orange  trees  which  have  been  properly  grown  should  yield  350  to  400  packed 
boxes  or  a  car  per  acre  after  twelve  years  old.  Lemons  will  yield  about  one- 
third  to  one-half  more  tonnage  per  acre  than  oranges. 

About  75  per  cent  of  the  fruit  is  sold  through  a  very  well  organized 
cooperative  selling  agency  known  as  the  California  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange. 
The  grower  buys  stock  in  proportion  to  his  acreage  in  a  local  packing-house 
which  is  owned  and  operated  by  an  association  of  growers.  Several  associations 
together  form  a  district  exchange,  which  orders  cars,  ships  the  fruit,  and 
distributes  the  returns.  All  of  the  district  exchanges  belong  to  the  central 
exchange,  which  furnishes  facilities  for  marketing  the  fruit  in  the  shape  of 
bonded  agents  working  under  salary  in  the  principal  markets.  The  central 
exchange  also  furnishes  daily  market  reports  and  other  information.  Grower- 
members  are  prohibited  from  selling  and  delivering  fruit  outside  of  the  associa- 
tion.    Growers  may  withdraw  from  the  association  at  the  end  of  any  year. 

There  are  about  forty  cooperative  marketing  associations  outside  of  the 
Exchange  and  a  number  of  independent  grower-shippers.  Very  little  fruit  is 
shipped  on  consignment. 

Some  persons  have  made  fortunes  in  citrus  fruit,  while  many  others  have 
lost  money.  Others  would  have  lost  money  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely 
advance  in  the  value  of  the  land  for  residence  or  other  purposes. 

Any  person,  however,  with  sufficient  capital,  a  reasonable  knowledge  of 
horticultural  operations,  and  ordinarily  good  business  judgment,  who  is  indus- 
trious and  persevering,  may  expect  to  make  a  good  profit  by  raising  citrus 
fruits,  provided  he  or  she  pays  attention  to  the  following  points: 

1.  Select  a  location  in  a  proved  citrus  district  reasonably  free  from  frosts 
and  winds  and  within  hauling  distance  of  a  packing-house. 

2.  Select  a  deep  soil  easy  to  work,  fertile,  well  drained,  and  drive  a  good 
bargain  for  it. 

3.  Be  sure  of  an  ample  supply  of  good  water  to  which  the  land  has  an 
inalienable  right.  For  full  bearing  trees  near  the  coast  on  a  retentive  soil 
about  l1/!  miners'  inches  of  water  is  needed  for  ten  acres.  The  same  trees  in 
interior  valleys  and  especially  on  gravelly  soils  need  not  less  than  three  miners' 
inches  to  ten  acres.  When  buying  a  young  grove  bear  in  mind  that  only  a 
small  amount  of  water  is  needed  for  small  trees  and  that  some  people  develop 
groves  with  insufficient  water  rights  with  the  intention  of  selling  to  an  inex- 
perienced person  at  the  critical  time.  Beware  of  a  citrus  development  based 
on  surplus  water. 


46 

4.  Secure  good  strong  trees  free  from  scale  which  have  been  propagated 
from  carefully  selected  buds  of  standard  varieties.  The  standard  varieties  in 
California  are  few  in  number.  They  are:  Navel  and  Valencia  oranges,  Eureka 
and  Lisbon  lemons,  Marsh  seedless  pomelo,  and  Dancy  tangerine. 

5.  Plant  the  trees  properly,  using  great  care  not  to  let  the  sun  strike  the 
bare  roots.  Inexperienced  planters  should  purchase  balled  trees,  as  there  is  less 
danger  of  losing  them  during  transplantation. 

6.  Care  for  the  trees  personally  and  conscientiously  in  regard  to  cultivation, 
irrigation,  fertilization,  and  pruning. 

7.  Prevent  scale  insects  and  diseases  from  gaining  a  foothold.  Remember 
that  the  average  cost  of  fumigation  is  $30  per  acre  every  alternate  year,  and 
this  is  6  per  cent  on  $500,  consequently  in  a  scale-infested  locality  land  is 
worth  less  for  citrus  production,  other  things  being  equal. 

8.  Join  a  local  marketing  association  and  cooperate  with  the  neighbors  in 
frost  fighting,  insect  and  disease  control,  and  in  other  ways  for  the  general 
good  of  the  neighborhood. 

9.  Write  freely  to  the  College  of  Agriculture  for  advice  and  enroll  for  the 
Correspondence  Course  on  Citrus  Fruits. 


COTTON  RAISING 
By  Walter  E.  Packard,  Assistant  Professor  of  Agricultural  Extension 

Cotton  can  be  raised  in  any  of  the  interior  valleys  of  California  where  irri- 
gation water  is  to  be  had  and  where  there  is  assurance  of  freedom  from  cold 
coast  fogs.  Commercial  plantings  at  present  occur  in  Imperial,  Palo  Verde, 
San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys;  Calexico,  El  Centro,  Blythe,  Fresno  and 
Chico  being  the  main  cotton  centers.  Ample  ginning  facilities  are  now  pro- 
vided at  all  Imperial  Valley  points,  at  Blythe,  Yuma,  Bakersfield  and  Fresno, 
while  cottonseed  oil  mills  are  located  at  Calexico,  El  Centro,  Los  Angeles 
and  Fresno. 

Three  general  types  of  cotton  are  grown:  short  staple,  Durango  and 
Egyptian.  Short  staple  cotton  is  most  commonly  planted,  as  the  market  is 
established  and  less  care  is  required  in  growing  the  crop.  Mebane  Triumph, 
which  represents  the  majority  of  the  short  staple  acreage,  has  an  average 
length  of  one  inch,  has  a  ginning  percentage  of  from  33  to  35  per  cent,  and 
yields  from  one-half  bale  to  two  bales  per  acre,  depending  upon  the  conditions 
under  which  it  is  grown  and  upon  the  quality  of  seed  used. 

Durango  cotton,  a  medium  long  staple  variety  introduced  from  Mexico  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  has  been  grown  extensively. 
This  variety  is  well  adapted  to  California  conditions,  although  the  yield  is 
affected  by  a  tendency  to  drop  an  excessive  number  of  squares  as  a  result 
of  any  sudden  change  of  moisture  condition  affecting  the  plant.  Durango 
averages  one  and  three-sixteenths  inches  in  length,  has  a  ginning  percentage 
of  from  29  to  31  per  cent,  and  yields  slightly  less  per  acre  than  Mebane  Triumph 
under  like  conditions.  The  fibre  is  used  largely  for  thread  manufacture  and 
brings  from  3  to  5  cents  more  on  the  market  than  short  cotton  during  normal 
times. 

Egyptian  cotton  was  grown  experimentally  for  a  number  of  years  before 
being  adopted  by  farmers  for  commercial  planting.     Both  the  Yuma  and  Pima 


47 

strains  of  Egyptian  cotton  were  widely  planted  in  1918.  Pima,  the  better  of 
the  two  types,  is  replacing  Yuma  as  rapidly  as  pure  seed  can  be  secured  for 
planting.  Pima  cotton  averages  1%  to  Vy1G  inches  in  length,  has  a  ginning 
percentage  of  from  26  to  28  per  cent,  and  yields  from  one-fourth  of  a  bale  to 
one  bale  per  acre,  averaging  one-half  bale.  Pima  Egyptian  requires  a  rela- 
tively longer  growing  season  than  either  Durango  or  Mebane  Triumph,  but 
has  an  advantage  in  its  tendency  to  hold  on  to  both  squares  and  bolls  when 
the  plant  is  affected  by  unfavorable  moisture  conditions.  American  Egyptian 
cotton,  of  the  grade  of  Yuma,  sold  before  the  war  for  19  to  22  cents.  The 
price  from  1918  for  Pima  has  ranged  between  56  to  65  cents.  The  use  of 
this  variety  in  the  manufacture  of  strong  fabrics  has  created  a  demand  for 
this  quality  of  cotton. 

It  is  highly  desirable  that  one  type  of  cotton  be  selected  in  any  one 
section,  as  promiscuous  planting  causes  deterioration  by  cross-pollination.  The 
mixing  of  seed  at  the  gin  even  when  great  care  is  exercised  in  cleaning  the 
gin  between  ginnings  is  another  very  common  cause  of  deterioration  in  field 
planting.  Any  community  can  gain  by  specialization  on  one  variety  of 
cotton  not  only  in  developing  a  pure  strain  of  superior  quality,  but  in  creating 
a  reputation  for  a  special  type  which  can  always  be  secured  by  buyers  inter- 
ested in  the  particular  staples. 

Cotton  can  be  grown  successfully  on  a  variety  of  soils.  Hardpan  land  or 
soil  containing  excessive  alkali  should  be  avoided.  Sandy  loam  soil,  particularly 
if  it  is  old  alfalfa  land,  produces  the  largest  yields.  Sub-irrigated  land  is 
entirely  satisfactory,  provided  the  water  does  not  come  so  close  to  the  surface 
as  to  interfere  with  the  proper  root  development.  Good  yields  have  been 
secured  on  land  where  the  water  table  has  risen  to  within  two  feet  of  the 
surface  during  the  summer  months. 

Cotton  is  planted  any  time  after  the  danger  of  frost  is  over  until  the 
first  of  June,  April  being  the  best  month.  The  usual  practice  in  preparing 
land  for  cotton  is  to  plow  the  field  thoroughly  early  in  the  spring.  The  land 
is  then  irrigated  by  flooding  and  thoroughly  disked  as  soon  as  the  land  becomes 
dry  enough  to  work.  Furrows  are  made  with  the  use  of  a  lister,  the  furrows 
being  from  3  feet  6  inches  to  3  feet  10  inches  apart.  After  furrowing  and 
shortly  before  planting  time,  the  land  is  irrigated  by  running  water  down 
the  furrows  for  a  sufficiently  long  time  to  allow  a  thorough  saturation  of  the 
ridges.  The  land  is  then  harrowed  as  soon  after  irrigation  as  possible,  so 
that  the  ridges  are  dragged  down  quite  thoroughly,  leaving  a  mellow  seed 
bed  for  planting.  The  seed  is  drilled  in  on  top  of  the  ridge  by  the  use  of 
an  ordinary  one  or  two  row  corn  and  cotton  planter,  from  twenty  to  thirty-five 
pounds  of  seed  being  used.     The  land  is  sometimes  harrowed  following  seeding. 

Where  surface  irrigation  is  not  required  cotton  is  often  planted  flat,  and 
when  the  soil  is  mellow  the  results  are  good.  Where  the  land  is  not  ridged 
the  field  is  plowed,  disked  and  thoroughly  harrowed  in  the  early  spring  and 
seeded  as  soon  as  the  weather  permits.  The  objection  to  this  method,  where 
irrigation  is  practised,  is  that  the  seed  is  often  planted  where  there  is  in- 
sufficient moisture,  requiring  a  second  irrigation  to  sprout  the  seed. 

Volunteering  cotton  from  year  to  year  has  been  practised  in  many  cases. 
If  the  earth  is  ridged  up  thoroughly  about  the  plant  during  the  cold  winter 
period  it  tends  to  prevent  the  freezing  of  the  lower  buds  and  a  good  plant 
is  often  secured  without  reseeding.  Volunteering,  however,  is  not  generally 
Considered  the  best  agricultural  practice. 


48 

The  irrigation  of  cotton  can  be  divided  into  two  periods:  the  first  covering 
the  time  from  planting  to  the  setting  of  the  first  bolls,  and  the  second  from 
the  setting  of  the  first  bolls  until  maturity.  During  the  first  period  it  is  im- 
portant to  have  a  deep  penetration  of  moisture  in  order  that  the  young  plants 
which  are  becoming  established  may  develop  a  deep  rooting  system.  During 
the  second  period  it  is  important  to  maintain  as  uniform  a  moisture  condition 
as  possible  in  order  that  the  plants  may  not  receive  any  sudden  shock  through 
irrigation,  causing  a  loss  of  squares  and  bolls.  The  number  of  irrigations  and 
the  time  of  irrigation  depends  entirely  upon  the  soil  and  methods  of  applying 
the  water.  In  some  fields  where  the  soil  is  mellow  one  or  two  irrigations  are 
sufficient,  while  in  heavy  clays  where  water  penetrates  slowly  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  irrigations  are  often  given.  Each  farmer  should  know  his  soil  type  and 
irrigate  according  to  the  needs  of  the  plants. 

Cotton  is  thinned  when  the  plants  are  from  five  to  ten  inches  high.  Mebane 
Triumph  and  Durango  are  thinned  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  apart 
in  the  row,  while  Egyptian  cotton  yields  best  when  thinned  to  from  six  to 
ten  inches.  The  first  cultivation  usually  follows  immediately  after  thinning 
and  is  continued  during  the  season  as  is  necessary  to  keep  the  soil  in  tilth. 

Two  insects  have  caused  appreciable  damage  in  the  cotton  fields  of  the 
state.  The  "tarnished  bug"  or  "common  plant  bug"  (Lygus  pratensis)  appears 
about  June  1st  and  stings  the  squares,  causing  many  of  them  to  drop.  The 
height  of  the  damage  occurs  in  July.  A  "squash  bug"  (Euschistis  impictiven- 
tris)  appears  in  July  and  causes  considerable  loss  by  stinging  bolls,  causing  the 
cotton  in  one  or  more  locks  to  spoil.  No  boll  weevils  have  appeared  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Some  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  securing  sufficient  experienced  labor 
to  handle  the  cotton  during  the  picking  season.  Picking  cost  from  75  cents 
to  $1.25  per  hundred  pounds  of  seed  cotton  before  the  war,  but  was  increased 
to  from  2  to  2%  cents  per  pound  for  short  cotton  and  from  4%  to  5^  cents 
per  pound  for  Egyptian  in  1918. 

Land  suitable  for  cotton  can  be  purchased  for  $100  to  $200  per  acre,  or  can 
be  rented  for  cash  or  on  shares.  Share  renting  is  commonly  practised:  the 
land  owner  furnishing  all  horses  and  tools  in  addition  to  furnishing  land, 
paying  taxes  and  a  portion  of  the  water  charges;  the  renter  furnishing  all 
labor  and  paying  a  portion  of  the  water  cost  and  receiving  one-half  to  three- 
fifths  of  the  crop  at  the  gin.  Both  the  picking  and  ginning  expense  is  usually 
divided  according  to  the  division  of  the  crop.  The  seed  is  usually  divided 
equally.     Arrangements  vary,  of  course,  according  to  conditions. 


DECIDUOUS  FRUIT  GROWING 

By  J.  C.  Whitten,  Professor  of  Pomology 

In  choosing  the  species  or  varieties  of  deciduous  fruit  to  plant  the  new 
farmer  should  be  guided  by  (1)  the  adaptability  of  his  soil  and  conditions; 
(2)  the  purpose  for  which  the  fruit  is  grown;  (3)  the  accumulated  experience 
of  the  successful  growers  in  the  neighborhood;  and  (4)  he  should  avail  himself 
of  what  has  been  accomplished  by  organized  effort  in  the  establishment  of 
grades;  brands  and  market  demands  for  the  crop. 


49 

The  best  varieties  of  fruit  for  the  new  farmer  to  plant  are  those  which 
have  been  found  to  be  especially  adapted  to  his  neighborhood.  This  point 
may  be  determined  by  consulting  the  more  successful  fruit  growers  having 
soil  and  conditions  similar  to  his  own.  In  districts  which  are  adapted  to 
a  wide  range  of  species  and  varieties,  a  number  of  kinds  of  fruit  may  be 
planted  if  desired.  This  admits  of  a  better  distribution  of  labor,  since  dif- 
ferent varieties  need  care  and  harvesting  at  different  periods. 

Certain  districts  have  become  widely  known  for  their  adaptability  to  a 
single  kind  of  fruit  which  reaches  the  highest  perfection.  In  such  a  district 
the  new  farmer  should  take  advantage  of  this  fact.  It  is  an  asset  which  the 
community  has  made  for  him. 

Just  why  a  given  soil  or  surroundings  may  prove,  upon  extended  trial,  to 
develop  a  given  fruit  to  perfection  is  not  fully  understood.  Enough  is  known 
of  the  general  requirements  of  the  different  species,  however,  to  be  very 
helpful  in  determining  their  best  location.  All  deciduous  fruits  require  a  well- 
drained  soil,  though  some  are  far  more  partial  to  thorough  drainage  and 
aeration  than  are  others. 

The  pear  requires  a  heavier,  finer  loam  with  more  liberal  admixture  of 
clay  than  do  the  other  deciduous  fruits.  Even  the  pear,  however,  will  not 
endure  a  very  wet,  sticky  soil,  which  is  cold  while  wet  and  which  bakes  severely 
when  dry.  Often  it  may  safely  be  planted  on  heavier  land  than  is  adapted 
to  other  fruits.  It  is  more  resistant  to  oak  fungus  and  alkali  and  is  often 
used  for  replanting  in  parts  of  orchards  where  other  fruits  have  died  out.  The 
apple  perhaps  ranks  next  to  the  pear  in  respect  to  the  above  adaptations.  The 
walnut  requires  a  deep,  moist  soil,  when  worked  on  the  California  black  walnut 
stock.  The  almond,  cherry,  and  peach  require  deep,  well  drained  soil.  Prunes, 
plums  and  apricots  have  an  intermediate  drainage  requirement. 

Spring  frosts  should  be  considered  as  a  factor  in  determining  the  location 
of  the  different  species.  Since  heavy  cold  air  settles  or  drains  into  the  low 
places,  the  latter  are  more  likely  to  be  frosty;  while  the  higher  elevations 
(not  high  altitudes)  are  freer  from  frost.  The  susceptibility  to  frost  injury 
of  a  species  depends  mainly  upon  its  season  of  blossoming;  the  later  it  blooms 
the  safer  it  is  from  injury.  The  almond  blooms  first,  while  the  nights  are 
cold,  and  a  first  requisite  for  its  success  is  an  elevation  above  the  frost  line. 
Its  blossoming  season  is  followed  by  that  of  other  species  in  the  following 
order:  Apricot,  Japanese  plum,  peach,  cherry,  pear,  apple,  prune,  quince. 

Other  things  being  equal,  all  fruits  do  better  in  rich  soils;  some,  however, 
require  much  richer  soils  than  others  for  profitable  results.  The  relative  re- 
quirement of  the  different  species  in  this  respect  is  based  partly  upon  field 
observations  of  their  growth  and  partly  upon  determinations  which  have  been 
made,  showing  the  relative  amount  of  plant  food  annually  removed  from  the 
soil  by  each  species  and  not  returned  in  their  leaves  when  they  fall.  The 
walnut  probably  requires  the  richest,  deepest  soil,  followed  in  order  by  the 
peach,  almond,  prune,  Japanese  plum,  apricot,  apple,  cherry,  and  pear. 

Fruits  which  are  to  be  sun  dried  require  emphatically  abundant  sunlight 
and  higher  day  temperatures.  Abundant  sunlight  and  warmth  are  essential 
to  the  development  of  the  desirable  sugar  content,  during  their  ripening 
period,  and  should  be  prolonged  sufficiently  to  complete  the  drying  process  after 
the  fruit  is  ripe.  The  dried  fruit  industry  is,  therefore,  greatly  favored  by 
conditions  prevailing  in  California  fruit  districts. 


50 

A  limiting  factor  in  pear  production  the  country*  over  is  blight.  Soft, 
succulent,  rapid  growing  tissue  favors,  and  slow  growing,  firm  tissue  opposes 
the  entrance  and  spread  of  blight.  For  that  reason  blight  is  most  serious  in 
districts  where  high  temperatures  favor  rank,  succulent  growth  of  the  pear  tree 
in  early  summer.  In  some  of  the  cooler  sections  of  California,  such  as  the 
coastal  valleys  and  to  a  degree  in  the  cooler  elevations  of  the  foot  hills,  blight 
is  less  serious.  In  these  districts  pear  growing  is  favored  to  a  degree  not 
possible  in  any  other  part  of  the  country. 

A  given  community  may  be  famous  for  its  dessert  fruit,  shipped  fresh, 
or  for  its  dried  or  canned  fruit.  Usually  definite  grades  or  brands  are  estab- 
lished. Market  demands  usually  have  been  created.  One  should  plant  to 
conform  to  the  established  industry  of  the  neighborhood,  using  the  varieties 
and  methods  upon  which  the  business  has  been  built  up. 

As  a  rule  it  is  safest  to  advise  the  new  farmer  to  be  guided  by  the  best 
local  practices,  employed  by  the  more  prosperous  fruit  growers,  in  producing, 
handling  and  marketing  the  fruit  crop.  The  very  fact  that  a  successful  fruit 
growing  industry  has  been  developed  is  evidence  that  it  has  been  based  upon 
sound  practice  and  years  of  organized  effort  in  building  up  the  industry.  One 
should  not  lightly  discard  established  practice  to  adopt,  indiscriminately,  new 
varieties,  new  methods  or  alleged  ''short  cuts"  to  success,  even  when  these 
are  advised  by  the  enthusiast.  Innovations  should  be  tested  only  on  a  small 
scale  until  their  superior  worth  is  proven  beyond  doubt. 

If  the  farmer  is  in  doubt  as  to  the  soundness  of  a  given  practice  he  may 
consult  his  local  farm  bureau,  farm  advisor,  horticultural  commissioner  or  the 
experiment  station.  These  agencies  are  helpful  in  enabling  the  orchardist  to 
determine  whether,  in  a  given  case,  he  may  more  safely  conform  to  standard 
practice  or  whether  he  may  make  progress  by  adopting  the  new. 

In  starting  a  deciduous  orchard,  moderate  sized,  one  year  old  trees  are 
preferable  to  large,  strongly  branched,  older  trees,  because  (1)  the  smaller 
trees  suffer  less  back-set  in  transplanting,  and  .(2)  they  may  be  given  the 
desired  form,  or  distribution  of  branches. 

At  the  time  of  planting  the  young  fruit  tree  should  be  pruned  to  a  single 
whip  and  cut  back  to  about  two  feet  in  height. 

The  tree  should  be  whitewashed  as  soon  as  possible  after  planting  to  prevent 
sunscald  and  drying  out  before  it  starts  growth  in  spring.  The  whitewash 
reflects  the  heat  of  the  sun,  keeping  the  tree  at  atmospheric  temperature. 
A  tree  not  protected  by  whitewash  warms  up  to  15  to  25  degrees  above  atmos- 
pheric temperature  during  the  sunny  part  of  the  day  and  cools  to  atmospheric 
temperature    (freezing  or  sometimes  below)    at  night. 

As  soon  as  new  shoots  two  or  three  inches  long  start  on  the  tree  in  March 
attention  should  be  given  to  spacing  properly  the  main,  permanent  branches. 
About  three  main  limbs  should  arise  from  the  stem.  These  should  be  spaced 
six  or  eight  inches  apart,  up  and  down  the  trunk,  and  spread  about  equally  in 
different  directions.  If  the  main  limbs  form  opposite  each  other,  in  a  single 
whorl,  they  form  bad  forks,  later  crowd  at  the  base  and  result  in  diseased 
trunks. 

The  strongest  shoot  at  the  top  should  be  selected  for  tho  upper  main 
limb.     Another  bud  or  shoot  fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  lower  down,  and  eight 


51 

or  ten  inches  from  the  ground,  should  be  selected  for  the  lower  main  limb. 
A  bud  or  shoot  about  midway  between  these  two  should  form  the  third  limb. 
These  three  main  limbs  may  be  encouraged  to  outgrow  all  the  others  by 
pinching  back  the  remaining  shoots  that  push  out  between  the^m. 

Do  not  remove  any  of  the  shoots  that  start.  Pinch  them  back  so  as  to 
leave  two  or  three  leaves  at  the  base  of  each  shoot.  The  leaves  on  these 
short  twigs  up  and  down  the  stem  shade  the  trunk,  cool  it  by  evaporation 
and  digest  plant  food  to  nourish  the  trunk  of  the  tree  and  the  root  system. 
They  result  in  a  larger,  stronger  tree.  They  also  may  become  the  first 
fruiting  branches. 

The  following  winter,  when  the  young  tree  has  completed  its  first  summer's 
growth,  the  three  main  limbs  should  be  headed  back  to  where  they  should 
divide  into  two  branches  each.  They  should  be  cut  to  about  a  uniform  height. 
Usually  the  lower  one  will  be  cut  to  about  two  feet  and  the  upper  one  to  about 
fifteen  inches  in  length. 

In  March  or  early  April  two  main  shoots  near  the  top  of  each  of  these 
main  limbs  should  be  encouraged  to  develop,  thus  establishing  six  main  limbs. 
Superior  growth  of  these  six  branches  is  secured  by  pinching  back  any  addi- 
tional shoots  that  tend  to  outgrow  them.  Again,  do  not  prune  off  the  surplus 
shoots;   keep  them  short  by  pinching  them  back. 

By  May  of  the  second  spring  these  six  strong,  growing  branches  will  have 
reached  a  height  where  most  of  them  should  divide  again.  At  this  time  they 
should  be  cut  back,  about  breast  high.  With  this  May  heading  about  eight 
or  ten  permanent  main  branches  will  be  secured. 

No  subsequent  heading  back  should  be  done,  except  with  meager  branching 
sorts  like  cherries.  The  eight  or  ten  main  limbs,  when  once  established,  should 
be  left  to  make  and  retain  their  normal  length  growth  annually. 

Except  for  heading  back  the  three  primary  limbs  the  first  winter  and 
heading  back  the  six  limbs  that  arise  from  these  the  following  May,  winter 
pruning  should  consist  of  thinning  out  limbs  that  grow  too  close  together; 
removing  strong,  outside  branches,  low  down,  which  may  get  in  the  way  of 
cultivation;  of  removing  any  strong  water  sprouts  that  start  in  the  center  of 
the  tree,  and  shortening  inner  branches  that  tend  to  cross  or  interfere. 

A  broad,  spreading  tree  should  be  maintained  with  open  center  to  admit 
filtered  sunlight  from  above.  Small  branches  and  fruiting  twigs  should  be 
preserved  throughout  the  length  of  the  main  limbs.  They  protect  from  sun- 
scald,  nourish  the  tree,  and  become  the  first  fruiting  branches. 

If  thinning  out  at  the  top  is  practised,  fruiting  twigs  may  be  maintained 
throughout  the  body  of  the  tree,  from  the  trunk  upward.  The  tree  will  reach 
bearing  age  one  or  two  years  earlier  and  will  carry  heavier  crops.  Main  limbs 
not  headed  back  spread  outward,  droop  with  a  gradual  curve  that  does  not 
break  and  admit  of  pruning  and  handling  most  of  the  crop  from  the  ground. 

Trees  annually  headed  back  make  numerous  rank  sprouts  just  at  the  point 
where  the  limbs  are  headed.  These  rank,  late  growing  sprouts  rob  the  twigs 
on  the  branches  below  and  shade  them  out,  resulting  in  long,  bare,  unfruitful 
lower  limbs  which  are  subject  to  sunscald,  gumming,  borers  or  other  injury. 


52 


FIG  CULTUEE 

By  I.  J.  Condit,  Assistant  Professor  of  Citriculture 

The  fig  acreage  in  California  in  1917  was  reported  as  follows:  Six  thousand 
and  twenty-two  acres  in  bearing  and  3655  acres  non-bearing.  This  does  not 
include  over  4300  acres  planted  in  Fresno  County  during  1917  and  1918.  The 
estimated  production  of  dried  figs  in  California  in  1916  was  as  follows: 

State  Fresno  County 

Adriatic    5000  tons  3800  tons 

Smyrnas    600  tons  400  tons 

Mission    300  tons  100  tons 

In  1917  the  crop  amounted  to  about  12,000  tons.  In  normal  years  the  import* 
of  dried  figs  into  the  United  States  total  about  20,000,000  pounds,  valued  at 
$1,000,000. 

Fig  trees  flourish  and  produce  fresh  fruit  in  practically  all  parts  of  Cali- 
fornia where  the  temperature  does  not  fall  below  15°  F.  Young  fig  trees  are 
tender  and  in  exposed  valley  locations  should  be  protected  with  cornstalks 
to  avoid  severe  frost  injury.  The  production  of  dried  figs  on  a  commercial 
scale  is  largely  limited  to  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys,  where  the 
fruit  can  be  dried  out  of  doors. 

Foothill  soils  and  mesas  or  tablelands  are  most  suitable  for  fig  orchards. 
Sandy  soils  should  be  avoided  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  a 
uniform  moisture  content  and  because  of  the  susceptibility  of  fig  roots  in  sandy 
soil  to  the  attacks  of  nematode  worms  which  weaken  the  tree  and  limit  the 
crop.  Irrigation  may  or  may  not  be  necessary,  depending  upon  the  soil  con- 
ditions and  the  depth  of  the  water  table.  Hardpan  land  is  being  utilized  in 
many  localities  for  fig  culture.  The  measure  of  success  upon  such  land  depends 
upon  the  depth  and  the  thickness  of  the  hardpan  layer  and  the  extent  to  which 
it  can  be  shattered  before  planting  the  trees.  Soils  in  which  the  water  table 
is  near  the  surface  should  be  avoided. 

The  cost  of  good  fig  land  will  vary  from  $75  to  $300  an  acre,  depending 
upon  the  location  and  the  water  supply.  Fig  trees  come  into  bearing  at 
from  three  to  five  years  of  age  and  should  be  in  full  bearing  at  twelve  to 
fifteen  years.  The  cost  of  the  trees  varies  from  $18  to  $30  per  hundred  and 
the  cost  of  bringing  an  orchard  into  bearing  will  vary  from  $50  up  to  $200 
an  acre,  depending  upon  the  necessity  and  expense  of  leveling  land,  blasting 
tree  holes  and  development  of  an  irrigation  system.  Some  annual  inter-crops 
may  be  profitably  grown  between  the  rows;  grapevines,  however,  which,  are 
sometimes  used  as  an  inter-crop,  seriously  injure  and  stunt  fig  trees.  The 
cost  of  operating  a  bearing  fig  orchard,  including  harvesting,  taxes,  interest, 
etc.,  will  vary  from  $75  to  $100  per  acre  per  year.  It  is  not  the  custom  to 
rent  fig  properties  in  California. 

The  yields  to  be  expected  vary  widely,  but  averaging  the  good  and  poor 
seasons  together  they  may  be  expected  to  be  somewhat  as  follows:  Mission, 
2%  to  Sy2  tons  per  acre;  Adriatic  and  Smyrna,  2y2  to  3  tons  per  acre.  The 
prices  received  vary  in  different  years,  depending  upon  the  supply  and  demand. 
Under  pre-war  conditions  the  grower  received  about  2  cents  per  pound  for  the 
Mission,  3%  cents  for  the  Adriatic  and  from  5  to  6  cents  for  the  Smyrna.    For 


53 

the  1918  season  the  California  Fig  Growers'  Association,  a  cooperative  organ- 
ization, decided  that  the  following  prices  were  reasonable,  although  many 
tons  of  dried  figs  were  sold  at  much  higher  figures:  Smyrna,  15  cents;  Adriatic 
and  Kadota,  10  cents;  Black  Mission,  8  cents.  The  testimony  of  a  large  number 
of  growers  is  to  the  effect  that  at  present  (aside  from  shipping  fresh  figs) 
there  is  most  money  in  the  Adriatic,  after  that  the  Smyrna,  and,  lastly,  the 
Mission. 

The  business  of  packing  and  shipping  fresh  figs  is  growing  steadily  both 
for  local  and  Eastern  markets.  For  a  number  of  years  eastern  shipments  of 
fresh  figs  packed  in  pony  refrigerators  have  been  profitably  made  from  the 
Coachella  Valley  and  a  few  other  points.  The  so-called  Kadota  fig  is  an 
excellent  fresh  fig  for  distant  markets  on  account  of  its  thick  skin  or  rind, 
which  insures  good  keeping  qualities.  This  thick  skin  is,  however,  inimical  to 
the  production  of  a  superior  dried  fig.  The  Kadota  is  being  largely  used  for 
preserving  and  candying,  to  which  purpose  it  is  well  adapted. 

Fig  trees  are  singularly  free  from  insect  pests  and  fungous  diseases.  Smyrna 
figs  are  liable  to  split  whenever  moisture  conditions  in  soil  or  atmosphere  are 
not  uniform.  Adriatic  figs  are  inclined  to  sour  and  ferment  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  drying  season  when  nights  are  cool  and  atmospheric  humidity  in- 
creases. In  isolated  orchards  birds  often  damage  a  considerable  percentage 
of  the  crop. 

A  well-established  and  well-cared-for  fig  orchard  should  bear  profitable 
crops  for  an  indefinite  period. 

The  artificial  process  of  caprification  is  necessary  only  with  Smyrna  varieties. 


GRAPE  GROWING 
By  F.  T.  Bioletti,  Professor  of  Viticulture  and  Enology 

Grapes  are  grown  commercially  in  every  county  in  California,  except  one 
or  two  in  the  extreme  north  and  two  or  three  in  the  higher  mountain  regions. 

Varieties  and  Localities. — Raisin  grapes  are  grown  principally  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  with  Fresno  as  the  center.  Here  the  Muscat  and  Sultanina 
develop  the  necessary  sugar  early  enough  to  be  dried  in  the  sun  while  the 
weather  is  still  hot  and  dry.  Minor  centers  where  good  raisins  are  made 
occur  in  the  central  part  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  even  near  the  coast  in 
the  extreme  south,  but  drying  the  fruit  is  often  uncertain  and  dipping  or 
artificial  driers  must  sometimes  be  resorted  to. 

The  earliest  shipping  grapes  are  Sultanina  and  Malaga  from  the  Coachella 
and  Imperial  valleys.  The  next,  principally  of  the  same  varieties,  come  from 
the  foothills  of  Tulare  County  and  the  neighborhoods  of  Winters  and  Vacaville. 
Malaga  is  the  principal  white  shipping  grape  and  is  grown  most  largely  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley  south  of  Modesto.  The  Flame  Tokay,  which  constitutes  the 
main  bulk  shipped,  is  grown  principally  in  San  Joaquin  County,  with  Lodi  as 
a  center  and  in  Sacramento  County  along  the  American  River.  Farther  south 
it  fails  to  develop  sufficient  color.  The  next  most  important  shipping  grape 
is  the  Emperor,  grown  principally  in  Tulare  and  Fresno  counties.     The  latest 


54 

shipping  grapes  are  grown  in  Contra  Costa  and  Santa  Cruz  counties  principally. 
In  general,  shipping  grapes  can  be  grown  profitably  only  in  localities  where 
packing  and  transportation  facilities  have  been  established.  Eich  soil  and 
abundant  water  are  necessary. 

Grapes  for  dry  wine  have  been  grown  most  profitably  in  the  coast  counties 
from  Mendocino  to  San  Diego,  where  the  acidity  of  the  fruit  and  the  cool 
weather  of  the  vintage  are  suitable;  sweet  wine  grapes  in  the  great  interior 
valleys  from  Shasta  to  Kern  and  also  in  parts  of  the  San  Gabriel  Valley  in 
southern  California,  where  rich  soil  insures  large  crops  and  the  climate 
promotes  low  acidity  and  high  sugar  content  in  the  grapes. 

On  a  twenty-acre  vineyard  most  of  the  work  except  harvesting  can  be  done 
by  the  owner  himself.  Unless  he  has  had  considerable  experience,  it  would  be 
unwise  to  attempt  to  handle  more. 

In  starting  a  vineyard  great  care  should  be  used  in  choosing  the  planting 
stock.  As  a  rule  one  year  old  rooted  vines  grown  from  cuttings  carefully 
selected  from  healthy,  profitable  vines  should  be  used.  In  rich,  moist,  sandy 
loam  the  cuttings  may  often  be  planted  directly  in  the  field  with  considerable 
saving  in  expense  and  some  in  time.  In  most  of  the  coast  regions  phylloxera 
resistant  bench  grafts  must  be  used. 

The  soil  should  be  cleared,  leveled  where  irrigation  is  needed,  and  plowed 
or  subsoiled  at  least  twelve  inches  deep  before  planting.  Great  care  in  training 
and  pruning  the  young  vines  for  the  first  three  years  before  they  come  into 
bearing  is  necessary.  Stakes  must  be  used  from  the  end  of  the  first  year  until 
the  vines  can  support  themselves.  Some  varieties,  such  as  Sultanina,  require 
trellising.  Pruning  must  be  done  by  expert  hands  and  must  be  adapted  to  the 
particular  variety.  Sulfuring  once,  twice  or  three  times  during  the  season  is 
needed  to  control  the  Oidium.  Special  methods  of  thinning  and  harvesting 
are  needed  for  some  table  grapes. 

A  well-managed  vineyard  on  suitable  soil  in  a  suitable  locality  may  yield 
a  net  profit  of  from  $50  to  $200  per  acre  when  in  full  bearing.  One  planted 
on  poor  soil  or  in  an  unfavorable  locality,  or  one  which  is  neglected  or  im- 
properly handled,  will  often  fail  to  pay  running  expenses. 

Suitable  land  can  be  obtained  for  from  $150  to  $250  per  acre  in  small  tracts. 
The  cost  of  planting  and  care  of  an  ordinary  vineyard  for  the  first  three  years 
will  be  about  $150.  Where  resistant  vines  are  used  about  $40  per  acre  must 
be  added  to  this.  If  the  vines  are  to  be  trellised  like  Sultaninas  from  $25  to 
$30  per  acre  must  be  added. 

The  average  cultural  expenses  of  a  bearing  vineyard  will  seldom  be  less 
than  $15  per  acre  per  annum  and  the  fixed  charges  for  taxes,  depreciation,  and 
interest  on  the  investment  will  usually  exceed  $25. 

It  should  be  recognized  by  the  planter  that  the  land  suitable  for  grape 
growing  of  all  kinds  in  California  is  practically  unlimited.  When  prices  are 
high  most  vineyards  are  profitable  and  new  plantings  rapidly  increase  the  crop 
of  the  state  with  a  consequent  drop  in  prices.  Under  these  conditions  the 
poorer  vineyards  become  unprofitable.  Any  vineyard,  however,  which  has  some 
peculiar  advantage  of  soil,  location  or  management  that  enables  it  to  produce 
more  than  the  average  crop  will  pass  safely  through  the  period  of  depression 
and  be  very  profitable  when  the  reaction  of  high  prices  recurs. 


55 


OLIVE  CULTUBE 
By  W.  F.  Oglesby,  Former  Assistant  in  Viticulture 

Regions. — Olives  may  be  grown  in  most  of  the  foothill  sections  of  the  interior 
valleys  as  far  north  as  Bedding  and  in  the  warmer  sections  out  on  the  floor  of 
these  valleys.  They  may,  also,  be  grown  in  favored  spots  in  all  the  coast 
valleys  south  of  Mendocino  County,  although  the  cooler  atmosphere  retards 
somewhat  the  development  and  ripening  of  the  fruit,  and  black  scale  is  often 
troublesome  and  hard  to  control.  It  would  be  well  for  those  who  contemplate 
the  planting  of  olive  orchards  to  visit  such  places  as  Oroville,  Fresno,  San  Ber- 
nardino, Los  Angeles  and  San  Diego,  as  the  factors  in  these  places  and  the  dis- 
tricts around  them  will  give  some  idea  of  conditions  required.  If  the  visit  be 
made  in  late  summer  the  disadvantages  of  shallow,  leachy,  heavy  or  poorly 
drained  soils,  as  well  as  close  planting,  poor  pruning,  poor  cultivation  and  poor 
drainage,  will  be  readily  seen. 

Climate. — Olive  trees  will  grow  wherever  the  temperature  does  not  go  below 
15°  F  in  winter,  but  for  fruit  the  latest  killing  frost  in  spring  should  be  in 
April  and  the  earliest  killing  frost  in  the  fall  late  in  November.  From  blossom- 
ing time  to  frost  or  for  at  least  six  and  one-half  months  the  mean  daily 
temperature  should  not  be  less  than  66°  F.     A  higher  mean  would  be  better. 

Soil. — A  deep,  rich,  well-drained,  sandy  loam  is  the  ideal  soil  for  olives. 
They  will  do  fairly  well,  however,  on  any  well  drained  soil.  Very  heavy  or 
poorly  drained  soils,  as  well  as  those  too  coarse  or  gravelly  to  hold  moisture, 
should  be  avoided. 

Irrigation. — No  olive  orchard  should  be  planted  without  making  provision 
for  irrigation.  The  trees  may  do  well  and  an  occasional  crop  may  be  obtained, 
but  an  unirrigated  olive  orchard  will  prove  of  little  commercial  value.  An 
olive  orchard  should  be  irrigated  from  three  to  twelve  times  per  year,  accord- 
ing to  the  character  and  depth  of  the  soil.  An  equivalent  of  one  miner's  inch 
continuous  flow  during  the  growing  season  should  be  provided  for  each  five 
acres  of  orchard  as  a  minimum. 

Cultivation. — Olive  orchards  should  be  plowed  deeply  at  least  once  a  year 
and  thoroughly  cultivated  after  each  irrigation. 

Pruning. — Annual  pruning  is  necessary  if  annual  crops  are  to  be  expected. 
If  the  pruning  is  neglected  the  tree  will  produce  crops  biennially  or  less  fre- 
quently. Pruning  should  keep  the  head  of  the  tree  low  and  open  and  should 
regulate  the  amount  of  fruiting  brush  left  from  year  to  year. 

Harvesting. — All  olives  should  be  hand-picked.  The  degree  of  ripeness 
depends  on  the  use  to  which  the  fruit  is  intended.  If  for  green  pickles,  fruit 
should  be  full  grown  but  still  green  in  color.  For  ripe  pickles  and  oil,  fruit 
should  be  well  colored,  color  varying  according  to  variety.  Varieties  grown 
should  be  confined  to  those  that  grow  large  enough  fruit  for  pickling.  Mission, 
Manzanillo,  Sevillano,  and  Ascalano  are  the  most  favored  at  present. 

Labor. — Price  of  labor  will  vary  from  $2  to  $3  per  day,  according  to  the 
work  done,  expert  growers  and  grafters  getting  the  higher  price.  The  picking 
of  the  fruit  by  hand  will  cost  from  $20  to  $40  per  ton.  One  man  may  care  for 
from  ten  to  forty  acres.  In  any  case  he  will  need  help  at  picking  and  pruning 
time. 


56 

Lands  Still  Available. — The  lower  foothills,  bench  lands,  and  alluvial  fans 
and,  in  the  warmer  sections,  the  well-drained  bottom  lands  of  situations  men- 
tioned under  "Regions." 

Commercial  Value  of  Developed  and  Undeveloped  Land. — Developed  land  is 
valued  at  from  $300  to  $600  per  acre;  undeveloped  land  at  from  $25  to  $300 
per  acre,  price  depending  on  location,  character  of  the  land,  cost  of  leveling,  etc. 

Marketing. — For  the  most  part  olives  are  sold  directly  to  the  canners  and 
oil  makers.  Some  growers  have  their  own  plants  for  pickling,  but  oil  making 
requires  such  expensive  machinery  that  very  few  individuals  have  them.  There 
is  little  money  in  oil,  so  that  the  present  tendency  is  to  grow  only  such 
varieties  as  are  good  for  pickling.  Oil  is  a  by-product.  Only  the  undersized 
and  frosted  olives  are  now  turned  into  oil. 


PEAE  CULTURE 
By  Ralph  E.  Smith,  Professor  of  Plant  Pathology 

Soil  and  Climate. — The  best  pear  soil  is  deep  and  rather  heavy,  with  plenty 
of  moisture.  Alluvial  river  bottoms  and  moist  clay-loam  foothill  slopes  char- 
acterize our  chief  pear  sections.  The  tree  will  stand  more  drouth,  moisture, 
and  alkali  than  most  fruits,  however,  and  thus  is  often  used  to  fill  in  low,  wet 
or  slightly  alkali  spots  or  sloughs  in  orchards  of  peaches  or  apricots  where 
the  latter  trees  would  not  live.  Pears  are  not  very  particular  as  to  climate, 
flourishing  equally  well  near  the  coast,  in  the  interior  valleys,  and  among  the 
foothills.     Irrigation  is  usually  needed. 

Districts. — The  greatest  acreage  of  pears  in  California  is  to  be  found  in  the 
central  coast  valleys,  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  adjacent  regions  and  the  Sierra 
foothills  of  El  Dorado,  Placer,  Sacramento,  Lake,  and  Nevada  counties.  San 
Jose,  Sacramento,  Placerville,  Marysville,  and  Anderson  are  centers  of  pro- 
duction. 

Culture. — The  Bartlett  is  the  principal  and  almost  the  exclusive  variety 
grown  in  California.  A  few  others  like  the  Winter  Nelis  are  sometimes  quite 
profitable,  but  their  culture  is  exceptional.  French  seedling  has  been  the  usual 
rootstock,  but  the  Japanese  pear  is  coming  into  use  on  account  of  some  resist- 
ance to  blight  and  woolly  aphis.  Pears  are  planted  about  twenty-four  feet 
apart,  or  seventy-five  trees  per  acre.  The  trees  cost  about  thirty  cents  each 
in  quantity.  Five  to  eight  years  is  required  to  commence  commercial  bearing. 
The  trees  are  long-lived  and  very  hardy.  Other  crops  may  be  grown  between 
while  the  trees  are  young.  Orchards  should  be  plowed  in  spring,  irrigated  from 
two  to  five  times  according  to  locality,  and  cultivated  frequently.  Severe 
pruning  is  practiced.*  The  tree  when  planted  should  be  cut  back  to  a  height 
of  twenty  inches  and  each  year's  growth  thereafter  is  usually  shortened  to  a 
length  of  twelve  to  eighteen  inches,  thinning  also  to  a  framework  of  three  to 
five,  frequently  branched  main  limbs.  Lateral  branches  should  be  headed  in  to 
produce  fruit  spurs.     Fertilization  is  not  much  practiced  and  is  often  unde- 


*  This  is  the  standard  method  heretofore  practiced.  Experiments  conducted 
by  the  University  at  Davis  show  that  less  severe  pruning  (as  outlined  on 
pp.  48-51  of  this  bulletin)  produces  stockier  trees  which  bear  earlier  and  is  being 
adopted  by  many  orchardists. 


57 

sirable  on  account  of  making  the  trees  more  susceptible  to  blight.  Spraying 
is  necessary  to  control  scab,  codling  worm  and  other  pests.  The  usual  practice 
is  a  late  winter  application  of  lime-sulphur  as  the  buds  are  swelling,  one  com- 
bined spray  of  Bordeaux  mixture  and  lead  arsenate  after  blooming,  and  one  or 
two  later  sprayings  with  lead  arsenate. 

Harvesting. — The  fruit  is  picked  carefully  from  the  tree  by  hand  when 
"hard  ripe." 

Marketing. — There  are  three  principal  uses  for  California  pears:  canning, 
drying,  and  shipping  fresh.  The  Bartlett  is  preeminent  on  account  of  its 
suitability  for  all  of  these  purposes.  The  fruit  is  shipped  to  the  canner  in 
loose  boxes.  Drying  is  often  done  by  the  grower  himself.  For  shipping,  each 
pear  is  wrapped  in  paper  and  they  are  then  packed  carefully  in  standard  sized 
boxes. 

Cost  of  Production. — Production  and  harvesting  expenses  vary  widely,  but 
$75  to  $100  per  acre  is  a  fairly  liberal  average  of  yearly  expense  with  good 
care. 

Returns. — Production  of  trees  ten  years  of  age  and  up  varies  from  three  to 
ten  or  more  tons  per  acre,  and  the  usual  price  from  $25  to  $60  per  ton.  The 
foothill  districts  of  smaller  yield  per  tree  make  up  to  some  extent  by  high 
shipping  quality  of  the  fruit.    Orchards  average  from  ten  to  one  hundred  acres. 

Cost  of  Groves  and  Land. — Good  pear  land,  with  water,  can  be  bought  at 
from  $60  to  $400  per  acre,  and  producing  groves  are  worth  from  $300  to  $1000. 

Troubles. — Two  diseases,  blight  and  scab;  two  insects,  codling  worm  and 
thrips;  and  an  occasional  late  frost  are  the  chief  obstacles  to  pear  culture. 
Scab  and  worms  can  be  controlled  by  spraying.  Blight  is  a  very  serious  enemy 
and  has  ruined  thousands  of  acres  of  pears  in  California  and  elsewhere.  Pear 
planting  is  somewhat  hazardous  on  account  of  this  disease,  although  it  can 
be  fairly  well  controlled  by  very  careful  work.  Control  is  effected  by  very 
thorough  removal  of  affected  parts,  especially  during  the  winter.  The  disease 
is  extremely  infectious.  Partially  resistant  trees  are  being  developed.  Special 
information  should  be  sought  in  blight  control. 


PRUNES 

By  Thomas  Francis  Hunt,  Assistant  Professor  of  Agricultural  Extension  and 
Assistant   Superintendent   of  Farmers'    Institutes 

"All  prunes  are  plums,  but  all  plums  are  not  prunes.  A  prune  is  a  plum 
which  can  be  dried  without  the  removal  of  the  pit  without  fermenting."  The 
prune  belongs  to  the  genus  Prunus,  of  which  there  are  a  great  many  cultivated 
varieties.  Some  of  the  most  common  grown  commercially  are  the  Prune  d'Agen, 
or  French,  Robe  de  Sergeant,  Imperial  and  Sugar. 

The  culture  of  prunes  constitutes  a  very  large  branch  of  California  horti- 
culture, because  the  prune  is  a  standard  article  of  diet  and  is  marketed  ,as 
fresh  and  dried  fruit.  More  prunes  are  sold  than  any  other  dried  fruit  in 
California.  The  range  of  soil  and  climatic  conditions  for  the  prune  is  very 
large.  They  are  grown  successfully  in  the  valleys  near  the  coast  (not  on  the 
coast),  as  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  Santa  Rosa,  Napa,  and  other  of  the  smallei 
valleys.  In  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys,  where  conditions  are 
quite  different,  we  find  prune  orchards  doing  well,  as  in  the  vicinity  of  Hanford, 


58 

Visalia,  Vaca  Valley,  Yuba  City,  and  Chico.  Smaller  areas  are  found  in  the 
foothills  near  Auburn  and  Newcastle,  where  they  do  well. 

•Soils. — The  prune  is  grown  generally  in  deep,  fertile,  well-drained  soils, 
"not  too  sandy  nor  too  heavy  like  the  clays  and  adobes.  Because  the  tree  is 
quite  adaptable,  a  great  many  are  planted  on  soils  that  are  not  suitable,  such 
as  the  light  sands,  clays  and  adobes,  and  under  these  conditions  the  treep 
grow  with  varying  degrees  of  success.  In  selecting  a  soil  for  prunes  there 
are  certain  things  one  should  observe  very  carefully  before  planting,  and  try 
to  avoid.  The  soil  should  be  deep,  not  underlaid  with  hardpan,  standing  water, 
strata  of  coarse  gravel,  or  impervious  clay  near  the  surface.  One  may  not 
always  be  able  to  get  a  soil  where  all  these  conditions  are  ideal,  but  should 
select  as  nearly  this  type  as  possible.  The  conditions  to  avoid  named  above 
are  quite  often  improved  by  deep  plowing,  the  use  of  explosives,  drainage, 
barnyard  manures,  and  green  manure  crops.  These  factors  will  have  an  im- 
portant bearing  on  the  value  of  the  land.  Unimproved  land  in  sections  of  the 
state  where  the  industry  is  highly  developed,  as  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
sells  for  $250  to  $500  an  acre.  Improved  lands  in  these  sections  bring  from 
$600  to  $900  per  acre.  In  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys  unimproved 
land  brings  from  $125  to  $250  per  acre  and  improved  land  brings  from  $300 
to  $500. 

Developing. — There  is  quite  a  choice  of  locations  and  one  should  take  into 
•Consideration  climatic  conditions  in  regard  to  one's  personal  comfort,  price  of 
land  in  various  sections,  returns  from  crop,  amount  of  money  to  be  invested, 
and  income  desired.  The  high  priced  land  is  found  where  the  industry  is  highly 
developed  and  where  living  conditions  are  particularly  desirable,  as  in  the 
counties  along  the  coast.  Good  prune  land,  not  so  high  priced,  can  still  be 
obtained  along  the  streams  in  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys.  Still 
cheaper  lands  adapted  to  prunes,  usually  in  small  tracts,  can  be  obtained  in 
the  foothill  sections  of  the  state.  In  all  of  these  three  general  sections  prune 
growing  is  usually  beyond  the  experimental  stage,  so  that  with  a  given  type  of 
soil  selected  and  the  local  experience  in  regard  to  varieties  for  that  locality, 
one  can  proceed.  The  trees  can  be  propagated  in  several  ways,  but  budded 
trees  are  universally  used.  Several  stocks  may  be  used  for  various  soil  con- 
ditions, but  experience  has  taught  that  the  Myrobalan  root  is  generally  used, 
particularly  if  the  soil  is  heavy  or  drainage  conditions  are  bad.  The  peach 
and  almond  root  are  used  considerably  on  the  lighter  soils  and  where  the 
drainage  is  good.  It  is  usually  better  to  obtain  trees  from  some  reliable 
nursery  firm,  of  which  there  are  a  great  many  in  the  state.  The  trees  are 
planted  in  squares,  rectangles,  or  triangles.  The  usual  distance  is  twenty-two 
to  twenty-six  feet,  depending  on  local  conditions,  varieties,  etc.  The  general 
practice  is  to  cut  the  tree  back  to  a  single  stock  twenty  to  twenty-four  inches 
high  at  the  time  of  planting,  then  shape  the  tree,  by  pruning,  the  next  two 
or  three  years.  Others  do  not  prune  at  all,  but  let  the  tree  grow  as  it  will. 
The  cultural  methods  will  vary  a  little  in  different  sections,  but  is  not  unlike 
the  general  care  given  other  orchards  in  regard  to  plowing,  cultivating,  and 
irrigating. 

Handling  the  Crop. — There  are  three  general  methods  of  handling  the  crop. 
These  are  governed  usually  by  the  size  of  the  farm.  The  first  and  most  common 
is  the  case  of  the  owner  who  has  ten  or  twenty  acres  and  he  and  his  family 
do  all  the  work,  with,  perhaps,  additional  help  ^t  harvest  time.     The  second 


59 

class  is  of  large  tracts  of  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  acres,  which  are  handled 
almost  entirely  with  hired  labor.  Third,  the  renter.  In  this  case  the  land  is 
rented  for  a  cash  rental,  or  on  a  crop  basis,  which  is  usually  one-fourth  to 
one-half  for  the  owner  and  one-half  to  three-fourths  to  the  renter.  The  labor 
is  supplied  chiefly  by  white  people  who  live  in  the  community  and  by  transients, 
mostly  Orientals,  who  are  employed  during  the  rush  season.  The  fruit  ripens 
on  the  tree  and  falls  to  the  ground,  when  it  is  gathered,  hauled  to  the  dipping 
shed,  dipped  in  a  solution  of  lye,  and  placed  on  trays  in  the  sun  to  dry.  After 
the  fruit  has  been  dried  it  is  put  in  sacks  and  sold  to  the  large  packing 
concerns  or  handled  by  the  farmers'  cooperative  organizations. 

Insect  Pests  and  Diseases. — The  prune,  like  other  fruit  trees,  is  attacked  by 
certain  insects  and  diseases.  The  most  serious  insect  pests  are  thrips,  root 
borers,  and  red  spider.     The  worst  diseases  are  crown  gall  and  gummosis. 


POTATO  CULTURE 
By  John  W.  Gilmore,  Professor  of  Agronomy 

The  principal  regions  are  in  the  delta  lands  of  San  Joaquin  and  Contra 
Costa  counties  and  the  Salinas  Valley  of  Monterey  County.  Those  desiring 
to  investigate  this  industry  would  do  well  to  visit  the  regions  in  the  vicinity 
of  Middle  River,  Holt  and  Stockton  for  the  delta  country;  Blanco  and  Salinas 
(Monterey  County)  and  Sebastopol  (Sonoma  County)  for  the  other  regions. 
There  is,  also,  a  considerable  acreage  in  Los  Angeles,  Orange,  Merced,  Stanis- 
laus, and  Napa  counties 

The  delta  region  consists  of  lowlands  which  for  a  long  period  of  time  have 
been  inundated  by  the  high  waters  of  the'Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers. 
They  have  been  overgrown  by  juncus  (tule)  and  other  marsh  plants.  These 
marshes  have  been  reclaimed  by  constructing  levees  along  the  water  courses 
and  then  by  electrically  driven  pumps  the  water  has  been  removed  to  a  level 
sufficiently  low  to  grow  crops.  The  soil  consists  of  partly  decomposed  vegetable 
matter  mixed  with  sediment  from  the  overflows,  and  in  this  form  it  is  loose 
and  friable  and  permits  the  ready  movement  of  water.  The  soil  is  well  suited 
not  only  to  potatoes,  but  to  onions,  asparagus,  beans,  and  barley. 

Because  this  soil  is  very  rich  in  organic  matter  and  because  of  its  loose 
texture  and  abundance  of  moisture  diseases  that  affect  the  potato  thrive 
readily.  These  do  not  often  materially  damage  the  first  crop,  but  they  are 
sufficiently  prevalent  to  infest  and  multiply  in  the  soil,  so  that  future  crops 
are  often  greatly  reduced.  The  disease  causing  the  most  trouble  is  the  Fusarium. 
It  infests  the  soils  from  year  to  year,  and  while  it  affects  the  tubers,  it  does 
not  render  them  unfit  for  use  during  the  early  part  of  the  season.  Its  principal 
effect  is  upon  the  young  shoots  which,  after  becoming  thoroughly  diseased,  die 
before  the  tubers  are  formed,  but  too  late  in  the  season  for  replanting.  The 
only  effective  remedy  against  this  disease  now  known  is  to  plant  the  land  to 
non-affected  crops  until  the  disease  is  starved  out.  It  is  estimated  that  this 
disease  causes  an  annual  loss  to  potato  growers  in  this  region  of  from  20  to 
25  per  cent  of  the  crop,  or  a  money  loss  of  nearly,  if  not  fully,  a  million  dollars. 

Other  diseases,  especially  Rhizoctonia  Scab  and  Leaks  (Bhizopus),  are 
common  in  this  and  most  other  regions.  The  first  two  diseases  may  be  kept 
somewhat  in  control  by  treating  the  seed  tubers  in  a  solution  of  one  pound 


60 

formaldehyde  to  forty  gallons  of  water  for  one  and  a  half  to  two  hours.  This 
treatment,  with  care  to  secure  clean  seed  and  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops,  is 
reasonably  effective.  The  leaks  is  a  disease  that  causes  the  tubers  to  rot  with 
much  odor  and  sometimes  quite  rapidly  after  they  are  dug.  It  enters  the 
tubers  through  bruises  caused  in  digging  or  handling.  Care  in  these  operations 
seems  to  be  the  only  effective  remedy.  These  diseases  are  not  so  prevalent 
in   upland  soils. 

In  this  region  the  land  is  generally  plowed  in  the  fall  or  winter  and  again 
at  planting  time.  Planting  begins  in  March  and  continues  into  June  and  some- 
times into  July,  though  this  is  well  known  to  be  too  late  for  good  results.  As 
a  general  rule  the  planting  is  accomplished  by  hand,  dropping  the  seed  pieces 
behind  the  plow  every  second  or  third  round.  As  this  is  very  strong  land  the 
potato  crop  is  often  affected  by  weeds  and  much  of  the  labor  of  growing  the 
crop  is  expended  in  their  destruction. 

The  yields  in  this  section  vary  greatly.  The  factors  which  influence  the 
yield  are  diseases,  lack  of  storage  facilities  for  seed  and  the  culture  methods, 
especially  the  preparation  of  the  land  and  the  rotation  of  crops.  Because  of 
these  factors  the  yield  varies  from  65  to  750  bushels  per  acre. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  grow  potatoes  continuously  for  as  long  a  period  as 
possible,  for  this  crop  pays  better  returns  when  not  affected  than  most  other 
crops.  It  has  not  been  found  possible  to  do  this,  however,  without  incurring 
greatly  diminished  yields.  Consequently,  successful  potato  growing  in  this 
region  is  contingent  upon  adopting  culture  methods,  especially  in  respect  to 
rotation  crops  that  will  keep  the  soil  bare  from  the  disease. 

Much  of  this  land  is  held  in  large  tracts  and  is  usually  rented  at  from  $20 
to  $35  an  acre;  or,  when  on  shares,  for  one-third  of  the  crop.  The  cash  rental 
of  land  for  potatoes,  however,  is  the  more  usual  method.  Where  labor  is  hired 
it  is  generally  Japanese  or  Chinese  and  wages  commonly  paid  are  $2  to  $2.50 
per  day.  The  intrinsic  value  of  these  lands  depends  upon  the  prevalence  of 
disease  in  the  soil  and  the  equipment  of  the  farmer  for  using  other  crops 
profitably  in  rotation.  But  little  of  this  land  is  for  sale,  but  that  which  is 
for  sale  is  held  at  from  $300  to  $500  per  acre. 

A  good  deal  of  land  in  this  section  still  remains  to  be  reclaimed,  but  it 
can  only  be  done  at  considerable  expense  and  by  companies  or  individuals  not 
demanding  immediate  returns  on  the  money  invested. 

Salinas  Valley. — The  conditions  under  which  potatoes  are  grown  in  this  region 
are  typical  of  other  portions  of  the  state.  They  differ,  however,  from  those 
in  the  delta  region,  principally  in  respect  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  lesser 
prevalence  of  disease.  The  soil,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  so  productive.  The 
yields  vary  from  60  to  200  bushels  per  acre.  The  average  is  about  100  bushels, 
but  on  reasonably  good  land  and  by  practicing  good  cultural  methods,  about 
150  bushels  may  be  counted  upon.  In  this  section  much  of  the  potato  land  is 
rotated  with  sugar  beets.  The  deep-rooted  nature  of  both  of  these  crops  and 
the  tillage  methods  keep  the  land  in  good  tilth  and  in  good  producing  capacity. 

In  both  of  the  sections  mentioned  potatoes  are  harvested  both  by  hand  and 
by  machine  diggers  and  are  marketed  in  sacks  weighing  about  110  pounds.  The 
price  ranges  from  90  cents  to  $1.65  per  sack  (50  cents  to  90  cents  per  bushel). 

In  any  section  of  California  the  successful  production  of  potatoes  depends 
most  largely  upon  the  prevalence  of  a  deep  loam  soil  well  supplied  with  moisture 
and  free  from  disease  infestation.     The  interior  valleys,  where  the  temperature 


61 

during  the  growing  season  is  excessively  hot,  must  be  avoided,  for  the  potato 
thrives  best  in  a  cool  soil. 

In  the  southern  counties  two  crops  per  year  are  usually  produced.  The 
second  crop  is  the  more  difficult  to  grow,  mainly  because  of  difficulties  of 
securing  a  good  stand  and  a  vigorous  growth  during  the  warm  weather.  The 
second  crop  is  planted  from  the  middle  of  July  to  August  1st.  Proper  prepara- 
tion of  the  land,  its  cooling  by  irrigation  and  sprouting  the  seed  are  the  principal 
factors  upon  which  success  depends. 


EICE 
By  W.  W.  Mackie,  Assistant  Professor  of  Agronomy 

Rice  culture  in  California  is  one  of  the  newer  agricultural  industries. 
Though  started  about  ten  years  ago,  the  value  of  the  rice  crop  now  almost 
equals  that  of  wheat. 

The  three  essentials  for  successful  rice  culture  are  (1)  climate,  (2)  water, 
and  (3)  soil.  The  growing  season  for  rice  extends  from  the  middle  of  April 
to  the  middle  of  October.  Frost,  which  may  be  expected  after  October  15th 
and  almost  invariably  after  November  4th,  effectively  terminates  growth  and 
further  maturing  of  the  grain. 

Climatic  conditions  in  California  restrict  the  rice  growing  mainly  to  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys,  with  the  exception  of  the  delta  regions, 
where  the  cool  winds  from  the  San  Francisco  Bay  render  the  climate  too  cool 
in  summer  for  successful  rice  culture. 

Water  must  be  available  continuously  throughout  the  rice  growing  season. 
This  limits  the  area  available  for  rice  to  those  regions  whose  irrigation  systems 
have  sufficient  water  available  until  the  beginning  of  October. 

The  rice  fields  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  are  watered  principally  by  the 
canals  from  the  Feather  Eiver,  Cache  Creek  (supplied  from  Clear  Lake),  and 
canals  supplied  by  water  pumped  from  the  Sacramento  Eiver.  The  San  Joaquin 
Valley  lacks  the  late  summer  supply  of  gravity  water,  and  produces  limited 
amounts  of  rice.  This  is  made  up  largely  by  pumping  from  wells,  which  is 
more  costly  than  gravity  water. 

About  five  acre-feet  of  water  are  required  to  produce  a  crop  of  rice  under 
favorable  conditions.  If  more  than  eight  acre-feet  are  required,  it  is  not  likely 
that  rice  growing  will  be  profitable.  Gravity  water  costs  from  $5  to  $10  per 
acre  per  annum  and  pumped  water  much  more. 

Eice  soils  consist  of  clay  loam,  silt  loam,  or  adobe,  containing  considerable 
organic  matter.  The  subsoils  are  tenacious  and  retentive  of  water,  and  may 
or  may  not  contain  hardpan. 

The  principal  rice-producing  counties  in  California  are  Butte,  Colusa,  Yolo, 
Glenn,  Sutter,  and  Yuba,  with  small  areas  in  Merced,  Fresno,  and  Kern  counties. 

Eice  lands  are  fairly  level  and  are  prepared  for  irrigation  by  placing  levees 
or  borders  on  the  contours  at  each  fall  of  three  and  one-half  inches.  The  borders 
are  usually  made  by  graders  drawn  by  engines. 

Eice  fields  are  plowed,  harrowed,  and  drilled  in  the  same  manner  as  grain 
fields.     From  100  to  120  pounds  of  seed  are  planted  per  acre  at  a  depth  of 


62 

about  one  inch.  The  seeding  begins  about  April  15th  and  ends  by  June  1st. 
Eice  planted  after  May  20th  is  likely  to  be  caught  by  the  cool  weather  and  rain 
in  the  fall.  The  best  yields  are  secured  by  planting  during  the  ten  days  follow- 
ing April  25th.    A  well-prepared  seed  bed  is  just  as  essential  as  for  other  grains. 

Irrigation  water  is  required  to  sprout  rice,  as  rain  is  seldom  available.  The 
date  of  the  first  irrigation  is  considered  the  date  of  planting,  for  rice  seldom 
sprouts  before  the  irrigation.  The  first  irrigation  thoroughly  soaks  the  soil, 
after  which  from  three  to  six  slight  irrigations  may  be  necessary  to  keep  the 
soil  soft  and  wet  until  the  rice  attains  a  height  of  six  to  eight  inches,  about 
June  15th.  After  this  the  fields  are  kept  continually  flooded  to  a  depth  of  six 
or  eight  inches  until  drained  just  before  harvest  in  late  September  or  October. 
The  water  is  drained  off  before  harvest  slowly,  because  too  rapid  drainage 
causes  the  rice  to  fall  and  lodge.  Ordinarily  from  six  to  ten  days  are  required 
to  dry  out  the  soil  sufficiently  for  harvesting  operations. 

The  rice  is  cut  with  a  rice  binder  drawn  by  three  to  five  animals,  usually 
assisted  by  an  attached  gasoline  engine  which  operates  the  machinery.  An 
average  of  three  acres  per  day  is  considered  fair,  while  five  acres  may  be  cut 
under  favorable  conditions.  Within  one  or  two  days  the  rice  is  shocked.  After 
an  interval  of  ten  days  or  more  the  bundles  are  hauled  directly  to  the  thresher. 
Eice  is  never  stacked  for  fear  of  rain  damage.  One  binder  is  required  for  sixty 
acres  and  one  thresher  for  about  four  hundred  acres. 

The  rices  grown  in  California  are  of  the  Japanese  short  grain  varieties, 
which  are  heavy  yielders.  In  the  Sacramento  Valley  a  yield  of  3500  pounds 
per  acre  of  rough  rice  is  considered  satisfactory,  although  under  favorable 
conditions  6000  pounds  per  acre  have  been  produced.  Eice  lands  yield  best 
the  first  year  and  then  rapidly  deteriorate  until  the  third  or  fourth  year,  when 
the  land  becomes  foul  with  weeds  and  is  abandoned  for  a  period.  On  this 
account  the  majority  of  the  rice  farmers  prefer  to  rent  land  rather  than  to 
purchase  it. 

The  rice  lands  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  rent  from  $15  to  $25  per  acre 
per  annum,  depending  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  age  of  the  rice 
field.  The  water  is  usually  furnished  by  the  land  owner.  Where  share  rentals 
are  asked  the  tenant  gives  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  crop. 

The  cost  of  growing  and  marketing  a  rice  crop  varies  from  $35  to  $50  per 
acre,  varying  with  the  cost  of  water,  labor  and  seasonal  conditions.  This  high 
cost  necessitates  the  production  of  a  good  crop  if  decided  profits  are  to  be  made. 

The  greatest  pests  of  the  rice  fields  are  water  grass,  blackbirds,  and  ducks. 
Water  grass  exists  in  all  rice  fields,  but  the  best  growers  hand-pull  to  clean 
their  fields  in  order  that  they  may  continue  to  grow  rice.  Water  grass  is  a 
far  more  serious  problem  than  the  depletion  of  the  soil  fertility.  Only  the 
cleanest  seed  should  be  planted.  Eed  rice  in  seed  should  be  eliminated,  as  it 
shatters  and  volunteers  in  the  next  crop. 

The  rice  growers  of  California  are  organized  and  have  largely  handled  their 
products  through  the  Pacific  Eice  Growers'  Association,  with  offices  at  Sac- 
ramento. 

The  rice  industry  in  the  state  is  well  equipped,  with  large  rice  mills  situated 
at  Biggs,  Gridley,  Sacramento,  Woodland,  and  San  Francisco. 


63 


SEMI-TROPICAL  FRUITS 
By  I.  J.  Condit,  Assistant  Professor  of  Citriculture 

In  addition  to  citrus  fruits,  olives  and  figs,  the  following  semi-tropical 
fruits  are  now  being  grown  in  California  and  are  of  sufficient  importance  to 
warrant  commercial  plantings:  Pomegranate,  feijoa,  loquat,  Japanese  persim- 
mon, avocado,  carob,  and  date.     All  these  crops  require  irrigation. 

The  pomegranate  thrives  in  all  the  interior  valleys  of  California,  there 
being  at  present  over  150  acres.  The  Wonderful  is  by  far  the  best  variety  for 
market.  The  pomegranate  bushes  are  resistant  to  alkali,  but  they  cannot  be 
expected  to  produce  the  best  quality  fruit  on  soils  strongly  alkaline.  On  account 
of  the  common  habit  of  splitting,  the  fruit  of  most  varieties  of  pomegranates 
must  be  picked  before  it  is  fully  mature.  The  fruits  continue  to  ripen  well  if 
placed  in  cold  storage,  and  there  they  will  keep  in  excellent  condition  for 
several  months,  becoming  richer  and  more  vinous  in  flavor  and  better  in  quality. 
Growers  should  pay  especial  attention  to  such  products  as  bottled  juice  and 
syrup. 

The  feijoa  is  closely  related  to  the  guava,  being  sometimes  known  as  the 
pineapple  guava.  The  plants  are  hardy,  not  being  injured  by  a  temperature 
as  low  as  5°  F.  The  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  extension  of  feijoa  plant- 
ings at  present  is  the  lack  of  good  stock.  Seedlings  are  variable  in  produc- 
tiveness and  in  shape,  size,  and  quality  of  fruit.  Grafted  stock  should  be  more 
plentiful  in  a  few  more  seasons. 

The  loquat  is  one  of  our  neglected  fruits.  Experience  in  the  last  few 
years  has  shown  that  the  fruit  can  be  profitably  grown  if  the  right  varieties 
are  planted  in  a  protected  situation.  The  Thales,  Champagne,  and  Advance 
are  all  good  varieties  for  market  on  account  of  large  size  and  uniformity  of 
fruit.  The  tree  blooms  during  the  late  fall  and  early  winter,  and  must  therefore 
be  planted  where  the  blossoms  and  fruit  will  escape  frost  injury.  If  carefully 
handled  the  fruit  keeps  and  ships  well  even  to  distant  markets,  the  wholesale 
prices  ranging  from  a  few  cents  up  to  25  or  even  30  cents  a  pound. 

The  kaki,  or  Oriental  persimmon,  is  a  deciduous  tree  and  is  therefore  not 
so  liable  to  frost  injury.  Experience  has  shown  that  California  grown  trees 
are  preferable  to  those  imported  from  Japan  on  account  of  the  former  having 
a  better  root  system.  Trees  propagated  on  the  lotus  stock  (Diospyros  lotus) 
are  showing  excellent  results  in  the  orchard;  those  on  the  American  persimmon 
root  are  vigorous,  but  the  stock  has  a  tendency  to  sucker.  Persimmon  trees 
fruit  well  except  in  the  very  coldest  sections  of  the  state.  The  crop  is  earliest 
in  the  hot  interior  valleys,  but  later  fruits  grown  along  the  coast  are  of 
excellent  quality  and  are  marketable  to  good  advantage  during  November  and 
December  when  other  fresh  fruits  are  not  so  plentiful.  The  Hachiya  is  leading 
in  popularity  for  commercial  plantings,  while  the  Tanenashi  is  a  close  second. 

The  avocado  industry  is  passing  from  the  experimental  stage  into  that  of 
an  assured  success,  at  least  in  parts  of  southern  California.  Large  orchards 
are  in  bearing  and  fruits  are  being  marketed  in  quantity.  The  question  of 
varieties  is  still  a  critical  one,  but  the  list  has  been  shortened  to  six  or  eight 
approved  by  the  California  Avocado  Association.  Avocado  trees  are  not  par- 
ticular as  to  soil  as  long  as  drainage  is  good.  They  vary  in  their  climatic 
requirements  according  to  the  race  to  which  they  belong.     In  general,  it  can 


64 

be  said  that  so  far  as  minimum  temperatures  are  concerned  trees  of  the  Mexican 
race  should  thrive  wherever  the  orange  tree  thrives,  trees  of  the  Guatemalan 
race  wherever  the  lemon  thrives,  while  trees  of  the  tropical  West  Indian  race 
can  be  grown  only  in  the  most  protected  and  frost-free  localities. 

The  carob,  or  St.  Johns  Bread,  like  the  loquat,  blooms  and  sets  fruit  during 
the  fall  and  winter.  In  order  to  insure  a  profitable  crop,  therefore,  planting 
should  be  restricted  to  the  foothill  sections  where  frosts  are  not  severe.  Most 
carob  trees  produce  male  or  female  flowers  only.  Some  varieties,  however, 
bear  perfect  flowers,  and  such  are  preferable  for  commercial  planting.  The 
pods,  produced  in  September  and  October,  are  rich  in  sugar  and  make  excellent 
cattle  feed. 

Date  growing  in  a  commercial  way  is  restricted  to  parts  of  the  Imperial  and 
the  Coachella  valleys.  The  growth  of  the  industry  has  been  hampered  by 
scarcity  of  desirable  offshoots  for  planting.  The  variety  Deglet  Nur  is  in 
greatest  demand  as  a  confectionery  date,  while  Thuri  is  being  planted  for  a  dry 
or  bread  date. 


SUGAR  BEET  CULTURE 
By  R.  L.  Adams,  Associate  Professor  of  Agronomy 

Sugar  beet  culture  is  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  sugar  beet  factories,  their 
culture  seldom  proving  profitable  at  a  distance  greater  than  one  hundred  miles 
from  a  factory.  Their  growing  can  therefore  best  be  investigated  in  the 
territory  surrounding  the  factories  at  Alvarado,  Anaheim,  Betteravia,  Chino, 
Hamilton  City,  Huntington  Beach,  Oxnard,  Spreckels,  Santa  Ana,  and  Visalia. 

Since  the  first  six  to  eight  tons  of  beets  produced  are  required  to  pay  the 
cost  of  production,  only  soils  capable  of  yielding  good  crops  should  be  selected. 
Soils  should  be  avoided  which  are  shallow,  poorly  drained,  of  poor  texture,  high 
in  alkali,  lacking  in  plant  food  or  humus,  or  incapable  of  adequately  supplying 
the  moisture  requirements  of  the  crop. 

Land  for  sugar  beets  usually  commands  high  prices — $200  or  more  per  acre — 
but  can  be  rented  on  a  share  or  cash  basis,  the  former  requiring  as  payment  one- 
fourth  or  one-fifth  of  the  crop,  the  latter  about  $20  per  acre.  Where  sugar 
beets  are  the  primary  crop  the  farms  range  from  60  to  400  acres  in  size.  As 
a  rule,  however,  100  acres  may  be  considered  the  unit  farm. 

Sugar  beet  culture  requires  a  high  grade  of  work  stock  and  special  equip- 
ment, amounting  in  all  to  from  $2000  to  $3000  for  each  hundred  acres. 

Land  to  go  in  sugar  beets  should  be  put  in  a  fine  state  of  cultivation,  by 
the  complete  eradication  of  former  crops — as  alfalfa,  or  the  subjection  of  raw 
conditions — as  preceding  beets  with  some  other  crop  on  newly  broken  lands. 
It  is  essential  to  plow  as  deeply  as  is  consistent  with  the  past  handling  of  the 
land,  and  to  work  down  to  a  fine,  firm  seed  bed.  The  common  practice  is  to  do 
the  bulk  of  the  heavy  work  in  the  fall  after  applying  an  irrigation,  or  early 
in  the  rainy  season  after  sufficient  moisture  falls  to  start  the  weeds  and  bring 
the  soil  into  the  proper  condition  for  working.  The  land  is  ©ccasionally  worked 
over  until  seeding  time,  which  ranges  from  November  to  May,  depending  on 
the  section,  the  bulk  of  the  seeding,  however,  being  done  in  February  and  March. 

The  seed  is  drilled  with  machines  rented  from  the  factories.  These  seeders 
plant  either  four  or  eight  rows  at  a  time  at  distances  varying  from  18  to  28 
inches,  the  22-inch  and  24-inch  sizes  being  popular. 


65 

Cultivation  starts  as  soon  as  the  rows  can  be  seen  and  is  repeated  as  con- 
ditions demand  until  the  crop  is  laid  by.  When  the  plants  have  four  true  leaves 
they  are  thinned  to  distances  which  leave  the  remaining  plants  at  from  eight  to 
twenty-four  inches  apart,  the  distance  depending  on  the  strength  of  the  soil  and 
the  available  moisture — the  most  common  distance  being  ten  to  fourteen  inches. 

Irrigation  is  given  to  supply  ample  moisture  during  the  growing  periods 
with  a  lessening  amount  at  time  of  maturing.  Some  lands  need  but  a  single 
irrigation  previous  to  seeding  to  carry  the  crop  through,  while  others  require 
several  applications  during  the  growing  period  of  the  plants. 

When  the  leaves  turn  yellow  and  a  test  indicates  a  satisfactory  degree  of 
maturity  the  beets  are  ready  for  digging.  Specially  designed  plows  loosen 
either  one,  two  or  more  rows  at  a  time,  when  the  beets  are  pulled,  several  rows 
thrown  together,  topped  at  the  junction  of  the  green  top  with  the  creamy 
yellow  root,  and  hauled  or  shipped  at  once  to  the  factory. 

The  work  of  thinning,  hoeing  weeds,  cleaning  ditches,  pulling,  topping,  and 
loading  the  beets  is  ordinarily  done  by  Japanese,  Hindus,  or  Mexicans  working 
on  a  day  or  contract  basis — the  sliding  scale  contract  based  on  tonnage  pro- 
duced with  bonus  provision  as  a  rule  giving  the  best  mutual  satisfaction.  The 
contract  price  ranges  from  85  cents  to  over  $2  per  ton,  according  to  the  yield 
per  acre,  with  a  general  average  price  of  perhaps  $1.50. 

The  beets  are  delivered  to  the  factory  under  a  contract  drawn  up  previous 
to  planting,  under  the  terms  of  which,  among  other  things,  the  factory  agrees 
to  accept  all  beets  coming  up  to  a  certain  standard — usually  set  at  a  minimum 
of  12  per  cent  sugar  content  and  80  per  cent  purity,  with  a  maximum  weight 
limit  of  four  pounds.  These  beets  are  paid  for  on  either  a  tonnage  basis  or 
on  the  sugar  content  at  prices  designated  at  the  time  the  contract  is  drawn. 

Each  factory  employs  the  service  of  a  thoroughly  trained  agriculturist,  who 
stands  ready  to  advise  and  assist  all  growers  in  every  possible  way. 

For  further  information  see  California  Agricultural  Experiment  Circular 
No.  165,  entitled  "  Fundamentals  of  Sugar  Beet  Culture  under  California 
Conditions, "  by  E.  L.  Adams,  which  will  be  sent  upon  application  free  of 
charge. 


VEGETABLE  GEOWING 

By  S.  S.  Eogers,  Associate  Professor  of  Olericulture 

Truck  production  holds  an  important  position  in  California  agriculture. 
California  grown  vegetables  may  be  found  in  all  of  the  large  cities  of  the 
United  States  and  to  some  extent  in  Canada. 

The  requirements  for  a  successful  vegetable  garden  are  so  exacting  that 
congenial  soil,  moisture,  and  climatic  conditions  for  the  crops  to  be  grown 
should  exist. 

The  supply  of  all  vegetables  is  subject  to  sudden  and  wide  fluctuations 
upon  the  markets  making  it  imperative  for  the  grower  to  determine  carefully 
the  proper  time  for  planting  and  harvesting  the  various  crops. 

The  largest  centers  for  vegetable  production  are  located  in  the  river  delta 
situated  between  Stockton  and  Antioch,  at  Sacramento,  at  Imperial,  at  San 
Francisco,  in  Orange  County,  in  Los  Angeles  County,  and  in  certain  sections 
of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  especially  between  the  cities  of  Modesto  and  Merced. 


66 

The  most  favorable  soil  and  climatic  conditions  depend  wholly  upon  the 
crops  to  be  grown,  but  a  mild  climate  and  rich  sandy  loam  are  the  most 
desirable  for  the  production  of  the  majority  of  them. 

Practically  all  vegetables  in  California  are  grown  under  irrigation  and  it 
is  very  important  that  the  water  be  applied  at  such  intervals  that  the  amount 
of  soil  moisture  should  be  as  constant  as  possible.  When  irrigating  most  crops 
the  water  should  not  be  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  the  plants  and  it  is  best 
to  apply  the  water  in  a  large  number  of  furrows  allowing  it  to  flow  slowly,  rather 
than  to  use  a  small  number  of  furrows  allowing  it  to  run  swiftly. 

There  is  a  common  tendency  to  substitute  irrigation  for  cultivation.  This 
practice  should  be  avoided.  When  surface  irrigation  is  practiced  the  soil 
should  be  well  leveled  before  planting. 

As  a  rule  the  novice  does  not  appreciate  the  value  of  a  well  prepared  seed 
bed.  Too  much  importance  cannot  be  placed  upon  the  necessity  for  thorough 
working  of  the  soil  before  planting  any  vegetable  crop. 

The  most  desirable  size  of  truck  farm  depends  upon  the  location,  crops 
to  be  grown,  financial  condition  of  the  grower,  amount  of  water  available, 
and  the  labor  supply. 

It  is  possible  to  realize  a  net  income  of  from  $1000  to  $1500  per  year  from 
five  acres  of  garden  properly  managed  and  in  a  suitable  location  but  ordinarily 
one  should  have  at  least  ten  acres  to  be  reasonably  sure  of  a  satisfactory 
remuneration.  Many  of  the  truck  growers  in  California  produce  from  twenty- 
five  to  one  hundred  acres  of  vegetables  annually,  and  in  some  sections  the 
amount  of  land  farmed  by  one  individual  comprises  several  hundred  acres. 
In  these  larger  gardens  are  produced  celery,  asparagus,  onions,  and  potatoes. 
Suitable  land  for  vegetable  growing  can  be  obtained  in  practically  all  sections 
of  California  which  are  level  and  under  irrigation.  The  purchase  price  of  such 
land  varies  from  $150  to  $2000  per  acre.  One  may,  however,  procure  suitable 
land  in  a  desirable  locality  for  between  $200  to  $500  per  acre.  The  annual 
land  rentals  vary  from  $20  to  $80  per  acre,  cash,  or  from  one-quarter  to  one-half 
of  the  crop,  depending  upon  the  vegetables  grown  and  equipment  furnished 
by  the  owner.  The  labor  is  generally  done  by  Japanese,  Chinese,  Italians, 
Hindoos  and  Mexicans,  and  the  prevailing  prices  during  the  past  year  varied 
from  thirty-five  cents  to  forty-five  cents  per  hour,  with  an  average  range  from 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  to  forty  cents  per  hour. 

The  most  desirable  method  of  marketing  depends  upon  the  location,  size 
of  garden,  and  kind  of  vegetables  grown.  For  small  amounts  the  stores  and 
hotels  would  be  the  most  desirable  provided  the  garden  is  situated  within 
hauling  distance  of  the  markets.  For  the  larger  grower,  especially  if  the 
vegetables  are  produced  a  considerable  distance  from  the  market,  the  crops 
are  best  handled  in  carload  lots. 


VEGETABLE  SEED  PRODUCTION 
By   S.  S.  Rogers,  Associate  Professor  of  Olericulture 

Owing  chiefly  to  the  European  conditions,  vegetable  seed  production  has 
increased  enormously  in  California,  so  that  at  the  present  time  large  amounts 
of  practically  all  of  the  common  vegetable  seeds  are  being  produced. 

The  most  serious  losses  are  caused  in  certain  sections  by  hot  winds  which 


67 

frequently  burn  and  shatter  considerable  quantities  of  seed.  Occasionally  not 
a  little  difficulty  is  experienced  in  planting  at  the  propert  time  due  to  unfavor- 
able weather  conditions  and  shortage  of  experienced  labor. 

Regions. — The  principal  vegetable  seed  growing  centers  are  located  near 
the  cities  of  Sacramento  and  Stockton,  and  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  between 
the  cities  of  Palo  Alto  and  Hollister.  Bermuda  onion  seed  is  grown  in  the 
Cochella  Valley,  Riverside  County. 

Soil. — Vegetable  seed  is  produced  on  a  very  large  variety  of  soils  ranging 
from  adobe  to  peat.    The  most  suitable  soil  is  a  rich  loam. 

Moisture. — A  large  percentage  of  the  crop  is  produced  under  irrigation  and 
it  is  especially  desirable  to  have  a  suitable  amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil 
from  March  to  June,  inclusive.  The  water  is  applied  either  in  furrows 
between  the  rows  of  plants,  or  allowed  to  sub-irrigate  from  permanent  ditches. 

Climate. — Vegetable  seeds  do  best  in  a  moderate  climate  but  are  being 
successfully  produced  in  the  hot  interior  valleys  under  suitable  irrigation 
lystems. 

Methods. — The  planting  is  done  principally  during  the  months  of  November 
to  February  inclusive,  and  the  crops  mature  during  the  months  of  July  and 
August.  For  such  crops  as  beets,  carrots,  parsnips,  mangel,  chard,  etc.,  the 
bulbs  are  set  three  feet  by  three  feet,  or  four  feet  by  four  feet  apart.  Lettuce, 
radish,  mustard,  peas.,  etc.,  are  drilled  in  rows  from  two  and  one-half  to  three 
feet  apart.    Onions  are  usually  placed  six  inches  apart  in  rows  three  feet  apart. 

One  should  be  certain  that  the  soil  is  rich  and  that  a  suitable  irrigation 
system  is  available  before  planting. 

The  size  of  the  seed  farms  varies  from  a  few  acres  up  to  several  hundred. 
One  person  with  the  necessary  labor  can  best  handle  from  forty  to  sixty  acres. 

Vegetable  seed  is  being  produced  on  land  ranging  in  price  from  $100  to 
$1000  or  more  per  acre,  but  the  usual  value  of  lands  so  used  range  from  $200 
to  $500  per  acre.  The  rents  range  between  $20  and  $50  per  acre  cash,  or  from 
one-fourth  to  one-half  the  crop,  depending  upon  the  amount  of  capital  and 
equipment  furnished  by  the  owner. 

Most  of  the  hand  labor  is  done  by  Chinese,  Japanese,  Hindoos,  or  Mexicans, 
and  the  average  wage  paid  during  the  past  season  varied  from  thirty-five  to 
forty  cents  per  hour. 

For  the  beginner  who  has  not  become  known  to  the  seed  trade  it  is  generally 
disastrous  to  attempt  to  grow  seeds  except  under  contract  made  before  the 
planting.  The  seed  contracts  are  usually  made  from  June  to  August  preceding 
the  year  of  delivery. 


WALNUT  CULTURE 
By  Ralph  E.  Smith,  Professor  of  Plant  Pathology 

Soil  and  Climate. — Fairly  heavy  soil  is  needed  and  walnut  culture  is  not 
advisable  on  that  which  is  of  coarse  sand,  dry,  shallow,  or  ' '  alkali. ' '  The  best 
soils  are  six  feet  or  more  in  depth  to  water,  hardpan,  sand,  or  other  unfavorable 
strata,   and  well  drained. 

Climatic  disadvantages  are  late  spring  frosts  and  extreme  summer  heat. 
Different  varieties  are  adapted  to  various  conditions  in  these  respects,  if  not 


68 

too  extreme.  Walnuts  require  a  considerable  amount  of  water.  They  can 
be  grown  without  irrigation  in  some  places,  but  it  is  usually  better  to  have 
water. 

Districts. — The  principal  walnut  orchards  of  the  state  are  located  between 
Santa  Barbara  and  Santa  Ana.  The  industry  is  now  developing  in  some  of  the 
northern  counties.  Santa  Ana,  El  Monte,  and  Santa  Barbara  are  important 
centers  of  production,  while  San  Jose,  Walnut  Creek,  Stockton,  and  Santa  Rosa 
represent  the  northern  districts. 

Culture. — The  first  essential  is  a  proper  choice  of  variety  for  a  given  locality; 
the  beginner  should  seek  reliable  advice  from  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station.  The  northern  California  black  walnut  is  the  usual  root.  The  older 
groves  of  the  state  are  of  seedling  trees,  but  these  are  no  longer  planted. 
Franquette,  Concord,  Placentia,  and  Eureka  are  the  best  varieties.  Promising 
new  varieties  are  appearing.  Trees  cost  from  75  cents  to  $2  each.  Some  plant 
black  walnuts  in  orchard  form  to  top  graft  later;  this  method  is  of  advantage 
where  no  irrigation  can  be  practiced.  Planting  distances  average  50  X  50  feet, 
requiring  seventeen  trees  per  acre.  Young  orchards  may  be  interplanted  with 
alfalfa,  tree  or  small  fruits,  vegetables,  or  other  crops,  provided  plenty  of 
water  is  available.  Producing  orchards  are  usually  plowed  in  spring,  irrigated 
in  June,  August  and  in  winter  if  the  rainfall  is  short,  cultivated  after  irrigation 
and  occasionally  between.  Little  pruning  or  fertilization  is  practiced,  although 
desirable  in  older  orchards.  Spraying  is  commencing  to  be  practiced  in  some 
sections  against  two  pests,  the  blight  and  aphis.  Walnuts  should  pay  expenses 
by  the  fifth  year  after  planting  and  reach  good  bearing  at  ten.  The  production 
should  continue  to  increase  for  many  years;  the  tree  is  long-lived  and  fairly 
hardy. 

Harvesting. — The  nuts  ripen  in  September  and  October  and  are  picked  from 
the  ground  after  light  shaking  of  the  trees.  They  are  then  dried  in  the  sun, 
bleached  and  graded.  In  the  south,  most  of  the  growers  belong  to  cooperative 
associations  with  central  packing  houses,  where  the  nuts  are  bleached,  graded 
and  shipped. 

Marketing. — The  demand  for  walnuts  is  greater  than  the  supply.  Prices  are 
established  by  the  association  and  the  crop  sold  through  brokers.  Independent 
growers  easily  sell  to  private  customers. 

Cost  of  Production. — Production  expenses  vary  from  $25  to  $75  per  acre, 
averaging  between  these  figures.  Taxes  and  interest  on  the  investment  must 
be  added. 

Returns. — Groves  average  1000  pounds  of  nuts  per  acre  per  year,  with  an 
average  selling  price  of  18  cents  per  pound  for  all  grades  and  sizes.  The 
better  groves  frequently  produce  2000  pounds  per  acre  and  average  25  cents 
per  pound.  Greater  returns  are  exceptional.  This  gives  a  net  income  of  say 
$80  to  $200  per  acre.     Orchards  average  from  ten  to  forty  acres. 

Cost  of  Orchards  and  Land. — Walnut  orchards  in  southern  California  can  be 
bought  for  $700  to  $2000  per  acre.  One  thousand  dollars  is  an  average  price. 
In  this  section  good  bare  land  with  water  costs  at  least  $400  per  acre  and 
usually  more.  In  the  central  or  northern  portion  of  the  state  $150  to  $300  per 
acre  are  average  prices  for  desirable  land  with  irrigation  possibilities. 

Labor. — The  crop  is  well  adapted  to  a  working  family.  Father  or  sons  can 
do  the  heavy  work,  while  women  and  children  can  pick  up  the  nuts. 


69 

Troubles. — These  are  due  principally  to  sandy  or  shallow  soil,  lack  of  water, 
improper  varieties,  bad  treatment,  injurious  climatic  conditions,  and  the  disease 
called  blight.  These  conditions  can  be  largely  avoided  by  proper  choice  of 
locality  and   varieties,  and  good  culture. 


BEEF  CATTLE 
By  Gordon  H.  True,  Professor  of  Animal  Husbandry 

California  ranges  are  naturally  grouped  in  three  or  four  classes  on  the 
basis  of  different  systems  of  handling  stock  due  to  different  climatic  condi- 
tions. In  the  first  class  fall  those  ranges  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state 
where  cattle  are  grazed  in  the  mountains  during  the  summer,  pastured  during 
the  fall  on  enclosed  meadows  or  pastures,  and  fed  hay  during  the  winter. 
Calves  are  dropped  throughout  the  year  in  most  cases,  but  it  is  considered 
better  practice  not  to  have  them  begin  to  come  before  February  and  March. 
From  these  ranges  cattle  are  sold  in  the  fall  either  as  fat  cattle  or  feeders. 
In  the  second  class  are  all  those  where  cattle  are,  as  in  the  first  class,  grazed 
in  the  mountains  in  the  summer,  but  depend  on  the  natural  forage  of  foothill 
ranges  for  fall,  winter,  and  early  spring  feed.  From  the  herds  of  these 
ranges  cattle  may  be  sold  in  market  condition  twice  a  year — off  the  mountain 
ranges  in  the  fall  and  from  the  foothill  ranges  in  the  spring.  Normally  no 
hay  is  fed.  Calves  are  dropped  throughout  the  year.  The  third  class  is  that 
in  which  cattle  run  on  the  same  ranges  throughout  the  year.  When  winters 
are  not  severe  the  rains  of  that  season  bring  on  the  feed  that  makes  fat  cattle 
for  summer  market.  To  these  three  might  be  added  a  fourth  class  where  the 
uncultivated  valley  lands  are  used  as  range,  and  supplemented  by  the  grazing 
on  the  vast  areas  of  stubble  fields  available  after  grain  harvest  in  June  and 
July. 

Of  the  vast  range  areas  of  the  state  some  19,250,000  acres  are  grazed  under 
the  supervision  of  the  National  Forest  Service.  On  these  lands  the  grazing 
fee  is  at  the  rate  of  twelve  cents  a  month  for  grown  animals,  and  it  is  esti- 
mated that  from  ten  acres  up  are  required  to  carry  one  animal  for  six  months. 
Similar  grazing  lands  under  private  ownership  lease  at  about  three  times  the 
above  rate. 

California  has  become  accustomed  to  a  grass-fat  cattle  market,  and  no 
general  provision  has  been  developed  in  the  agricultural  practice  of  the  state 
for  taking  a  part  in  the  production  of  its  beef  supply,  except  as  the  stubble 
fields  frequently  leased  for  the  purpose  are  used  in  a  limited  way  for  the 
maintenance  of  stock  cattle  through  a  part  of  the  season  of  short  feed  on  the 
ranges.  A  few  men  have  fed  hay  to  market  cattle,  and  a  still  smaller  number 
have  begun  to  feed  for  market  on  hay  and  silage.  In  some  cases  grain  or 
cottonseed  cake  has  been  fed  in  a  manner  comparable  to  practice  in  the 
middle  west. 

Experiments  in  the  feeding  of  steers  on  alfalfa  hay  only,  conducted  at  the 
Oregon  and  at  the  Colorado  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations,  show  average 
daily  gains  of  from  less  than  a  pound  to  one  and  one-half  pounds  at  a  cost  of 
from  8.48  cents  to  11.36  cents  a  pound  with  alfalfa  at  $6  a  ton,  the  addition 
of  grain  to  the  ration  giving  a  higher  cost  of  gain. 


70 

The  profit  in  feeding  depends  not  alone  on  the  cost  of  gain  but  upon  the 
spread  between  the  prices  at  which  the  cattle  are  bought  and  sold.  This  spread 
has  never  been  great  enough  to  encourage  either  cattlemen  to  buy  feed  to  fat- 
ten their  cattle,  or  the  farmer  to  buy  cattle  to  fatten  on  his  home-grown  feed. 

The  valley  farms  of  this  state,  however,  are  depended  upon  by  range 
cattlemen  for  the  production  of  the  pure-bred  bulls  used  in  the  range  herds. 
There  are  approximately  8000  head  of  cattle  in  the  pure-bred  herds  of  the 
state  producing  not  to  exceed  2000  bulls  a  year.  There  are  in  the  range  herds 
1,700,000  cattle.  If  one-fifth  of  these  are  breeding  cows  there  should  be  in 
use  75,000  head  of  bulls,  one-half  to  one-third  of  which  should  be  replaced 
every  year.  Bulls  for  the  range  should  bring  from  $100  at  weaning  to  $250 
and  up  for  older  bulls  according  to  quality. 


SHEEP 
By  Gordon  H.  True,  Professor  of  Animal  Husbandry 

Sheep  are  kept  in  California  under  three  main  sets  of  conditions:  On  the 
unfenced  public  or  private  ranges  where  they  run  in  bands  of  two  to  three 
thousand  head;  on  fenced  mountain  ranches  of  a  few  thousand  acres,  and  on 
valley  farms  where  cultivated  crops  form  part  of  the  feed,  and  other  farm 
activities  may  or  may  not  be  carried  on. 

For  use  on  the  open  ranges  where  sheep  are  run  in  large  bands  under  the 
care  of  a  single  herder  and  his  dogs,  a  preponderance  of  fine-wool  blood- 
Merino  or  Eambouillet  is  necessary  on  account  of  the  natural  banding  instinct 
of  this  class  of  sheep. 

Sheep  run  on  the  open  range  move  constantly  from  one  feeding  ground  to 
another.  As  the  snow  melts  and  green  feed  starts  in  the  mountains  the  sheep 
are  moved  to  keep  pace  with  the  coming  of  the  new  feed.  Lambing  takes 
place  in  the  spring,  usually  in  March  or  April.  It  is  not  customary  to  provide 
shelter  though  it  has  been  found  profitable  to  do  so.  Flocks  lambing  in  sheds 
have  raised  as  high  as  140  per  cent  of  lambs,  while  losses  in  the  open  are 
often  40  to  65  per  cent  in  case  of  bad  weather  at  lambing  time.  The  flock 
is  shorn  once  a  year  before  lambing  in  the  spring.  The  average  clip  is  about 
six  pounds  of  wool.  The  increase  may  be  marketed  as  lambs  when  the  range 
is  good,  but  more  frequently  they  are  carried  on  to  be  sold  as  yearlings. 
Lambs  weighing  eighty  pounds  sold  last  year  at  from  $10  to  $12.  Under 
pre-war  conditions  $5  was  considered  a  fair  price. 

Sheep  are  especially  adapted  for  grazing  over  rough  land  of  scanty  herbage. 
They  eat  many  plants  not  eaten  by  cattle.  On  farms  they  keep  down  weeds 
and  other  volunteer  growth  along  ditch  banks,  lanes,  and  on  summer  fallow. 
As  hogs  consume  waste  grain,  fruit,  and  dairy  by-products,  so  sheep  use  what 
would  otherwise  be  waste  roughage  on  the  farm. 

In  the  valleys  where  they  run  on  stubble-fields,  it  is  the  practice  to  shear 
twice  a  year,  in  March  and  September,  otherwise  once  a  year  in  spring.  The 
clip  will  run  from  six  pounds  to  twelve  pounds  a  head,  some  fine-wool  ewes 
shearing  as  high  as  sixteen  to  twenty  pounds.  It  is  good  practice  to  dip  sheep 
after  shearing. 


71 

Thin  lambs  may  be  bought  and  fattened  for  market  by  running  them  on 
stubble  for  three  or  four  weeks  and  then  feeding  hay  and  grain  for  two  or 
three  months.  On  full  feed  lambs  should  eat  two  pounds  of  hay  and  one 
pound  of  grain  a  day,  and  gain  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  a  pound  in 
weight.  Ewes  may  be  wintered  on  hay  and  volunteer  growth,  with  some  grain 
at  lambing-time.     Cull  or  damaged  beans  are  especially  relished  by  sheep. 

A  pure-bred  ram  of  good  type  should  always  be  used.  The  period  of 
gestation  is  five  months,  and  the  natural  breeding  time  is  September  or 
October.  Neither  ewes  nor  rams  should  be  used  for  breeding  under  a  year 
old.  The  ram  should  not  run  with  the  flock,  but  be  turned  with  the  ewes  for  a 
short  time  each  day.     During  the  breeding  season  he  should  be  fed  some  grain. 

Expensive  buildings  are  not  required  for  sheep.  But  they  need  protection 
from  rain.  The  dog  is  the  sheep's  worst  enemy,  and  where  there  is  danger 
sheep  should  be  put  in  dog-proof  corrals  at  night.  One  should  see  and  count 
the  flock  every  day. 


HOG  BAISING 

By  J.  I.  Thompson,  Assistant  Professor  of  Animal  Husbandry 

Hogs  are  raised  for  market  in  California  as  adjuncts  to  four  different  main 
lines  of  business:  Grain  farming,  alfalfa  growing,  dairy  farming,  and  fruit 
growing. 

The  grain  farmers  raise  their  hogs  primarily  on  grass  and  waste  products 
until  the  barley  or  wheat  has  been  harvested.  Then  the  hogs  are  turned  into 
the  stubble-fields  to  gather  up  the  scattered  grain  and  unthreshed  heads.  When 
winds  have  been  severe  after  the  grain  is  ripe,  or  when  the  combined  har- 
vester is  not  properly  operated,  the  amount  of  grain  available  for  the  hogs  is 
considerable.  By  this  system  a  two-hundred  pound  hog  is  normally  produced 
in  about  twenty  months,  but  the  margin  of  profit  is  reasonable  because  most 
of  the  feed  used  would  otherwise  be  wasted.  Hogs  raised  under  this  system 
may  be  marketed  direct  from  the  stubble-fields,  but  are  usually  fed  a  full 
ration  of  barley  in  a  dry  lot  for  three  or  four  weeks,  and  are  then  sent  to 
market. 

Alfalfa  growers,  who  are  not  dairymen,  sometimes  grow  hogs  to  harvest 
a  part  of  the  alfalfa.  They  may  or  may  not  raise  their  own  grain.  Some 
of  these  establishments  produce  from  five  hundred  up  to  several  thousand 
hogs  a  year.  This  system  is  the  least  stable  of  the  four,  for  the  price  of 
grain  fluctuates  quite  independently  of  the  price  of  hogs.  Because  of  this 
fact,  there  are  many  "ins  and  outs"  under  this  system.  Some  growers  prefer 
to  use  a  maximum  amount  of  alfalfa  and  a  minimum  amount  of  grain.  Some 
feed  no  grain  at  all  when  pasture  is  abundant,  while  others  feed  from  one  to 
two  pounds  for  each  one  hundred  pounds  of  hog.  In  either  case  the  hogs 
are  full  fed  on  barley  at  the  finish  until  sufficient  weight  and  condition  is 
secured. 

Most  dairy  farmers  who  do  not  sell  whole  milk,  feed  the  skim  milk  to 
hogs.  This  class  has  increased  in  number  quite  rapidly  in  the  past  six  years, 
and  will  no  doubt  continue  to  do  so  unless  the  demand  for  skim  milk  for 
other  uses  forces  the  price  too  high.  Some  barley  is  fed,  and  in  most  cases 
alfalfa  pasture  is  used. 


72 

Fruit  growers  have  found  hogs  a  valuable  adjunct  to  their  business,  not 
only  to  clean  up  their  cull  fruit,  but  to  harvest  and  convert  into  fertilizer 
alfalfa  and  similar  crops.  Some  grain  is  fed  most  of  the  time,  the  pigs  being 
finished  on  barley,  or  sold  as  feeders  to  grain  farmers. 

Up  to  the  present  year  the  state  hardly  produced  as  much  pork  as  it  con- 
sumed, but  just  now  supply  and  demand  are  about  equal.  Quality  varies 
enormously,  but  the  top  30  per  cent  now  compares  favorably  with  the  il  corn- 
belt  ' '  product.  Better  breeding  stock  and  more  careful  feeding  are  needed  to 
further  improve  the  quality. 

Self-feeders  are  generally  used  when  it  is  desired  to  full-feed  the  hogs, 
but  when  it  is  desired  to  secure  a  reasonable  rate  of  gain  and  utilize  some- 
what more  alfalfa,  a  grain  ration  of  three  pounds  for  each  one  hundred 
pounds  of  pork  gives  satisfactory  results.  Tankage  or  cocoanut  meal  fed  in 
self-feeders  are  generally  used  as  protein  supplements  to  barley  when  skim 
milk  is  not  available. 

The  number  of  pure-bred  herds  in  the  state  is  increasing  steadily,  but  there 
is  need  of  more  general  use  of  pure-bred  sires  in  average  herds  before  the 
supply  of  pure-bred  boars  is  absorbed.  The  demand  for  pure-bred  sows  is 
excellent  and  is  increasing.  The  principal  breeds  are  Berkshire,  Duroc-Jersey, 
and  Poland-China,  but  a  considerable  number  of  Chester-Whites  and  Hamp- 
shires  are  to  be  found,  also   some  Tamworths  and  Yorkshires. 

The  long  growing  season  is  a  decided  advantage  in  pork  production.  In 
the  irrigated  sections  alfalfa  is  available  about  nine  months  of  the  year,  and 
on  medium  to  large  ranches,  volunteer  pasture  is  to  be  had  for  the  other 
three  months.  The  mildness  of  the  climate  in  the  majority  of  the  area  makes 
it  entirely  feasible  to  produce  two  litters  of  pigs  each  year.  In  fact,  fall- 
farrowed  pigs  often  thrive  better  than  those  farrowed  in  the  summer.  Feb- 
ruary, March,  and  April  are  the  most  desirable  months  for  spring-farrow; 
September  and  October  for  fall-farrow.  No  months  are  especially  undesirable, 
except  perhaps  July  and  August  for  the  large  interior  valleys. 

The  chief  handicaps  of  the  industry  are:,  A  market  somewhat  lacking  in 
classification  and  affected  by  the  limited  outlet  for  some  of  the  pork  products. 
At  present  the  market  demand  for  hams  and  bacon  is  entirely  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  demand  for  many  of  the  fresh  cuts  of  pork  and  for  lard. 

Another  handicap  is  the  relatively  high  cost  of  carbohydrate  or  fattening 
feeds.  Barley  is  the  principal  grain  used,  but  it  seems  to  require  from  10 
per  cent  to  20  per  cent  more  of  it  to  produce  one  hundred  pounds  of  pork  than 
of  Indian  corn.  The  pork  thus  produced  is  entirely  satisfactory  if  too  much 
alfalfa  is  not  used,  or  if  the  hogs  are  given  a  reasonable  feed  of  grain  all 
of  the  time  and  not  forced  to  live  on  green  feed  alone  for  a  considerable  period. 

Where  irrigation  is  practiced,  making  it  possible  to  grow  a  crop  of  milo 
or  kafir  corn  following  a  cereal  grain  crop,  the  cost  of  production,  due  to  a 
long  growing  season  and  relatively  cheap  protein  feeds,  may  be  somehwat  less 
than  in  the  corn  belt. 

The  production  of  higher  quality  hogs  and  the  continuous  efforts  of  every- 
one interested  to  bring  about  more  satisfactory  market  conditions  are  having 
the  desired  effect,  and  the  industry  is  at  present  reasonably  profitable. 

The  chief  expansion  of  the  industry  will  probably  be  through  an  increase 
in  the  alfalfa  acreage.  One  acre  of  alfalfa  is  the  average  unit  for  each  brood 
sow.     Generally  speaking,  ranches  of  twenty  acres  or  less  will  need  to  produce 


73 

some  pure-breds,  some  of  which  are  to  be  marketed  as  breeding  animals,  for 
the  price  of  grain  is  likely  to  be  so  high  at  times  as  to  leave  too  small  a 
margin  where  only  market  hogs  are  produced.  The  surest  and  most  constant 
profit  is  to  be  expected  where  the  hogs  fit  into  a  general  livestock  and  farming 
scheme. 


MILCH  GOATS 
By  E.  C.  Voorhies,  Assistant  Professor  of  Animal  Husbandry 

Milch  goats  are  kept  for  three  main  purposes:  For  family  milk  supply,  for 
the  raising  of  breeding  stock,  and  for  the  production  of  milk  or  cheese  for 
the  market. 

Milk  is  usually  sold  to  hospitals  or  to  private  families  for  invalid  or  infant 
feeding.  It  is  evaporated  and  canned  by  a  California  firm  and  sold  to  drug 
stores  for  the  above  purposes. 

For  the  family  milk  supply  two  does  bred  to  freshen  at  different  times  in 
the  year  may  be  depended  upon  to  furnish  a  constant  milk  supply  of  from  one 
to  three  or  four  quarts  a  day.  When  goat's  milk  is  retailed  for  hospital  or 
infant  feeding  the  usual  price  is  25  cents  a  quart. 

Cheese  is  made  on  a  commercial   scale  only  in  a  very  small  way. 

The  three  leading  breeds  of  milch  goats  are  the  Toggenberg,  Saanen,  and 
Anglo-Nubian.  Common  goats  or  grades  of  the  above  breeds  constitute  the 
greater  number. 

Pure-bred  goats  sell  at  prices  ranging  from  $75  to  $750  each;  grades  from 
$15  to  $75  each,  or  even  more  in  the  case  of  mature  does  of  known  high 
production. 

Does  may  be  fed  upon  clean  vegetable  waste  from  the  kitchen,  and  upon 
such  volunteer  growth  as  may  be  available  in  backyard,  lawn,  or  vacant  lots. 
This  feed  should  be  supplemented  by  hay  and  grain  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
insure  a  constant  supply  of  nourishing  feed.  Ordinarily  commercial  grain 
feeds,  such  as  barley,  oats,  bran,  dried  beet  pulp,  or  commercial  mixed  feeds 
may  be  fed  to  advantage. 

The  following  would  be  suitable  grain  rations: 

Parts  by 
weight 
Ration  No.  1 

Boiled  barley  or  ground  milo 1 

Oats    1 

Eation  No.  2 

Dried  beet  pulp 1 

Eolled  barley  1 

Wheat  bran  1 

In  the  case  of  raising  pure-bred  stock  for  sale,  one  should  keep  authentic 
records  of  milk  production,  as  values  are  based  upon  such  records  as  in  the 
case  of  dairy  cattle.  A  high-class  pure-bred  doe  should  give  at  least  a  gallon 
of  milk  a  day  during  the  flush  of  her  milking  period. 

Young  stock  may  be  raised  on  rough  hill  pastures  not  suitable  for  the 
grazing  of  larger  animals.  The  goats  make  use  of  browse  to  a  larger  extent 
than  other  animals,  making  brush  available  for  their  use. 


74 

The  period  of  gestation  in  goats  is,  like  that  of  sheep,  approximately  five 
months.  While  does  will  breed  at  a  much  younger  age,  it  is  counted  the  best 
practice  to  have  them  freshen  at  about  two  years  of  age. 

Bucks  should  not  be  kept  anywhere  near  the  milking  herd. 

While  there  is  a  difference  in  the  flavor  of  milk  of  goats  and  that  of  cows, 
this  difference  is  not  sufficient  to  be  detected  by  many  people. 


THE  DAIRY  INDUSTRY 

By  H.  E.  Van  Norman,  Professor  of  Dairy  Management  and  Dean  of  the 
University  Farm  School. 

The  man  who  starts  a  dairy  herd  is  starting  a  365-day  job,  and  he  should 
have  enough  cows  and  sufficiently  high  producers  to  make  it  worth  while  to  be 
on  hand  at  the  right  time,  with  the  right  feed,  and  to  have  facilities  for  the 
proper  care  of  the  product  and  to  produce  enough  of  it  to  pay  to  seek  a  favor- 
able market.  If  these  conditions  cannot  be  met,  it  is  better  to  limit  the 
number  of  cows  to  the  few  that  will  supply  the  family  needs. 

One  man  on  a  forty-acre  ranch  can  milk  and  care  for  eight  to  twelve  cows 
and  do  all  the  work  except  putting  up  the  hay.  With  the  major  portion  in 
alfalfa,  the  balance  in  garden,  fruit,  poultry  or  hogs,  one  man  will  be  kept 
profitably  busy  feeding  his  cows  and  other  animals,  with  a  surplus  of  feed 
for  sale. 

A  California  professional  milker  will  milk  and  feed  a  string  of  thirty  to 
thirty-five  cows,  and  possibly  haul  the  milk  or  cream  to  the  creamery  or  ship- 
ping station.  By  the  employment  of  one  milker  the  number  of  cows  may  be 
increased  to  thirty  or  thirty-five  and  the  owner  is  free  from  the  daily  chore 
of  milking,  except  in  time  of  labor  shortage.  Two  strings  of  cows  with  two 
milkers  and  the  employer  doing  the  outside  work  on  fifty  to  seventy-five  acres 
makes  an  attractive  unit,  especially  if  one  man  is  married  and  can  board  the 
other,  relieving  the  owner's  home  of  this  task. 

Ordinarily,  a  location  where  dairying  is  already  a  growing  industry,  with 
market  assured,  is  desirable.  Humboldt  County,  San  Joaquin,  Imperial  and 
northern  Sacramento  valleys  are  prominent  dairy  sections  with  creameries  for 
markets.  San  Francisco  Bay  region,  Los  Angeles,  Sacramento,  and  in  lesser 
degrees  the  territory  adjacent  to  the  smaller  cities,  are  producing  milk  for  the 
city  milk  trade,  while  the  southern  coast  region  is  noted  for  its  cheese  pro- 
duction and  many  less  conspicuous  localities  afford  excellent  alfalfa  land  and 
good  markets.  Occasionally,  a  growing  city  inadequately  supplied  offers  a 
good  market  for  city  milk. 

One  acre  of  good  alfalfa  and  silage  should  support  one  cow  a  year.  Any 
cow  capable  of  producing  thirty  or  more  pounds  of  milk  a  day  should  have 
some  grain  feed  in  addition  to  alfalfa  or  alfalfa  and  silage.  A  silo  is  proving 
a  profitable  investment  for  most  dairymen,  furnishing  succulent  feed  to  sup- 
plement the  dry  hay.  It  may  be  a  Farm  Bureau  type,  costing  $1.50  to  $2  per 
ton  capacity,  a  stave  silo  at  $2.50  to  $4  or  a  hollow  tile,  or  concrete  block,  or 
monolithic  at  $5.50  to  $7.  Properly  made,  one  will  preserve  silage  as  well  as 
the  other,  but  their  durability  and  life  is  in  the  order  named. 


75 

For  a  12  cow  dairy  a  silo  12  X  24. 

For  a  25-30  cow  dairy  a  silo  14  X  32. 

For  a  50-60  cow  dairy  a  silo  18  X  36   or   2   each   14  X  32. 

In  most  dairy  sections  a  silage  cutter  may  be  hired  for  filling  the  silo  or  if 
not  available  must  be  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $200  and  up,  while  a  tractor  can 
usually  be  rented  to  run  it. 

For  the  purchase  of  cows  seek  the  dairy  section  where  cow-testing  associa- 
tion records*  are  available  and  buy  good  cows.  The  extra  $15  or  $20  spent  for 
a  cow  that  will  produce  275  to  300  pounds  of  fat  per  year  is  a  far  better 
investment  than  twice  that  saved  on  a  cow  that  yields  only  175  to  200  pounds, 
for  the  first  $50  or  $60  of  gross  income  only  pays  for  the  feed  the  good  or  poor 
cow  eats.  Join  the  cow-testing  association  or  the  testing  department  of  the 
Farm  Bureau.  If  neither  is  available  weigh  and  test  the  milk  of  each  cow 
in  the  herd  every  month,  for  it  does  not  pay  to  keep  poor  cows  at  present 
prices  of  feed  and  labor.  Use  only  a  pure-bred  sire  with  a  record  of  at  least 
400  to  500  pounds  of  fat  per  year  by  his  dam.  Select  one  from  a  family  that 
has  the  habit  of  transmitting  its  producing  ability  to  the  next  generation. 
Select  a  sire  and  if  possible  grade  cows  of  the  breed  that  predominates  in  your 
community.  Some  sections  are  given  largely  to  Jerseys  and  Jersey  grades, 
while  in  others  the  Holstein  predominates,  while  pure-bred  herds  of  these 
breeds  as  well  as  Guernsey  and  Ayrshire  are  scattered  well  over  the  state. 
Proximity  of  a  pure-bred  herd  or  herds  is  a  great  advantage  to  the  new 
breeder,  as  soon  as  he  has  animals  for  sale,  for  it  brings  visitors  to  his  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  larger  the  number  of  cattle  of  one  breed  in  a  neighborhood,  the  higher 
the  price  and  greater  the  demand  for  the  surplus  animals.  This  is  true  whether 
grades  or  pure-breds  are  raised  and  is  especially  advantageous  if  the  latter  are 
raised  in  large  numbers.  Save  the  heifer  calves  from  the  good  cows  and  the 
pure-bred  sire.     Dispose  of  the  others  as  soon  as  practicable. 

Clean,  cold  milk  and  cream  are  essential  to  secure  highest  market  prices. 
Therefore,  provide  a  clean  place  to  milk,  free  from  dust,  arrange  for  prompt 
cooling  of  the  milk  as  low  as  possible — to  50°  F.  is  desirable  and  60°  to  65° 
is  essential.  Boiling  water,  or  more  convenient  but  not  necessary,  steam, 
for  washing  so  arranged  that  it  is  easy  to  do  the  work  right  should  be  provided 
for  a  task  that  must  be  performed  twice  every  day.  Market  milk  for  city 
distribution  or  condensing,  usually  nets  the  most  cash.  Sweet  cream  for 
ice-cream  next,  then  milk  for  cheese  and  cream  for  butter-making  last.  How- 
ever, the  sale  of  cream  and  wise  feeding  of  skimmilk  to  good  calves  or  pigs 
has  the  least  exactions  to  meet  and  in  the  long  run  is  apt  to  be  the  most  profit- 
able type  of  dairying,  as  it  takes  the  least  fertility  from  the  farm. 

If  there  are  children  in  the  family  ten  years  of  age  or  over,  give  them  a 
profit-sharing  part  in  the  daily  routine  of  the  dairy — their  regular  task  is  good 
for  them,  the  income  encourages  them.  Encourage  starting  a  savings  account 
and  funds  for  education  will  be  available  in  due  time. 

Finally,  the  renter  of  land  and  buildings  will  need  $4000  to  $4500  for  cows, 
teams,  tools,  etc.,  to  get  started.  The  purchaser  of  land  will  need  in  addition 
to  the  above  amount  whatever  he  must  put  into  the  first  payment  on  land 
and  home,  and  $100  per  cow  for  stabling  and  corrals. 


76 


THE  POULTRY  INDUSTRY 
By  J.  E.  Dougherty,  Associate  Professor  of  Poultry  Husbandry 

Two  factors  weigh  most  heavily  in  the  location  of  a  poultry  farm:  (1) 
nearness  to  good  markets,  (2)  available  supply  and  net  cost  of  feed.  Poultry 
and  eggs  being  perishable  products  which  must  be  shipped  expeditiously,  fre- 
quently and  at  low  cost,  favorable  transportation  facilities  and  -nearness  to 
good  markets  are  necessary.  Being  located,  however,  in  a  grain  growing  area 
where  grain  can  be  bought  direct  from  the  nearby  harvest  fields  at  lowest 
wholesale  prices  will  often  more  than  offset  increased  distance  from  markets 
provided  good  rail  facilities  are  to  be  had.  Cooperation  is  a  third  factor  that 
can  be  made  to  aid  in  offsetting  the  disadvantage  of  rather  distant  locations 
from  the  better  markets  because  it  makes  possible  the  buying  of  feed  and 
supplies  in  larger  quantities  at  lower  prices  and  permits  marketing  of  finished 
products  to  better  advantage. 

For  these  reasons  the  poultry  districts  have  largely  developed  in  the  more 
populous  areas  and  near  to  the  larger  cities  or  within  grain  growing  areas 
possessing  favorable  rail  connections  with  the  larger  cities  where  the  demand 
is  much  greater  than  the  supply  and  prices  good. 

The  Petaluma  district  surrounding  Petaluma,  Sonoma  County,  thirty-nine 
miles  from  San  Francisco  and  including  the  towns  of  Santa  Rosa,  Sebastopol 
and  Sonoma,  the  Hayward  district  in  Alameda  County,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
city  of  Hayward,  twenty  miles  from  San  Francisco,  the  Los  Angeles  district 
embracing  Los  Angeles  and  vicinity  and  including  the  cities  of  Riverside, 
Pomona,  San  Gabriel,  Burbank  and  Gardena  are  examples  of  prosperous  poultry 
centers  that  have  developed  primarily  as  a  result  of  being  near  Los  Angeles 
or  San  Francisco.  The  districts  around  Sacramento,  Stockton,  Fresno  and 
Tulare  are  in  grain  growing  areas  possessed  of  excellent  rail  facilities.  Poultry 
districts  have  also  grown  up  around  Santa  Cruz  and  San  Diego  because  these 
two  cities  are  popular  tourist  and  summer  resorts. 

Poultry  farming  in  the  districts  mentioned  above  and  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley,  Napa  Valley,  San  Mateo  County,  and  the  Sacramento  Valley  west  of 
the  Sacramento  River  and  north  of  Benecia  as  well  as  the  area  north  of 
Sacramento  is  capable  of  much  greater  development  and  most  of  these  last 
mentioned  areas  will  become  increasingly  desirable  for  poultry  farming  as  the 
population  of  the  state  grows  and  lines  of  transportation  are  developed  more 
extensively — especially  in  an  east  and  west  direction.  Good  roads  and  motor 
trucks  have  already  begun  to  play  a  very  important  role  in  bringing  the  country 
closer  to  the  city  and  making  it  possible  for  the  poultry  raiser  to  penetrate 
considerably  further  into  the  country  where  land  is  cheaper  before  getting 
beyond  effective  reach  of  profitable  markets. 

Poultry  raising  requires  good  farming  land  because  the  green  feed,  at  least, 
must  be  grown  and  because  forage  crops  should  also  be  raised  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  poultry  yards  if  the  soil  is  to  be  kept  sweet  and  free  from 
disease  spreading  contamination.  The  value  of  resting  the  land  from  poultry 
and  sowing  to  green  crops  every  few  months  is  so  well  recognized  that 
the  use  of  double  yards  for  each  pen  of  fowls  is  becoming  more  general  from 
year  to  year.     Alkali  land  and  barren  hillsides  are  entirely  unsuitable. 

Fowls  will  do  well  on  practically  any  well  drained  agricultural  soil.     The 


77 

lighter,  sandy  and  gravelly  loams  are  preferred,  however,  to  the  heavier  soil 
types  because  of  a  more  rapid  drainage  of  surface  water  and  drying  of  the 
surface  soil.  For  example,  on  sandy  soils  with  good  underdrainage,  a  heavy 
rain  will  sink  into  the  ground  about  as  fast  as  it  falls,  the  surface  will  be  dry 
enough  for  fowls  to  use  the  yards  soon  after  rain  ceases  and  such  soils  do  not 
become  sticky  when  moist.  On  heavy  clay  soils,  however,  rain  drains  away 
much  more  slowly  and  the  surface  soil  remains  damp  and  sticky  for  days, 
especially  in  winter.  A  moist,  sticky  soil  surface  adheres  to  the  feet  of  the 
fowls.  They  track  this  wet  soil  into  the  nests  and  scratching  pens  so  that 
scratching  litter  and  nests  quickly  get  dirty  and  damp  and  the  percent  of  dirty 
eggs  increases.  Dirty,  damp  pens  must  be  restrawed.  Dirty  eggs  must  be 
washed.  Washed  eggs  deteriorate  more  rapidly  than  unwashed  eggs  and  are 
worth  less.  To  prevent  restrawing  of  scratching  pens  and  dirty  eggs  from 
this  cause,  fowls  must  be  confined  to  houses  to  a  greater  extent  on  heavy 
than  on  light  soils. 

The  size  of  the  average  poultry  farm  is  from  five  to  twenty  acres.  A  ten- 
acre  farm  can  accommodate  from  2000  to  3000  adult  fowls  and  allow  for  the 
growing  of  green  feed  and  young  stock  to  maintain  the  adult  flock.  As  high 
as  1000  or  more  fowls  per  acre  of  yard  space  are  kept  on  some  commercial 
farms  but  not  more  than  500  per  acre  is  greatly  to  be  preferred  if  the  land  is 
to  be  kept  free  from  contamination,  the  stock  in  continued  good  health  and  a 
most  permanent  success  secured.     Too  great  crowding  is  unprofitable. 

Fowls  are  raised  almost  entirely  for  eggs  and  the  S.  C.  White  Leghorn 
is  used  most  extensively  for  this  purpose.  Egg  production  has  proven  more 
successful  than  the  production  of  market  poultry,  perhaps  because  eggs  are 
in  greater  demand  than  table  poultry  and  the  margin  of  profit  is  larger. 

The  money  needed  to  make  a  successful  start  in  poultry  raising  is  rather 
less  than  for  most  other  types  of  farming  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  so 
many  people  with  limited  means  desiring  to  leave  industrial  work  and  go 
into  farming,  turn  to  poultry.  A  total  investment,  including  dwelling,  of  from 
five  to  ten  dollars  per  laying  hen  is  required,  which  would  be  distributed  some- 
what as  follows:  30  per  cent  in  land,  40  per  cent  in  buildings  and  fencing  for 
chicken  yards,  etc.,  20  per  cent  in  stock,  4  per  cent  in  equipment  such  as  a 
horse,  plow,  harrow,  green  feed  cutter,  etc.,  3  per  cent  in  feed  and  other 
supplies,  3  per  cent  in  cash. 

The  net  profits  or  labor  income  will  range  from  50  cents  to  $1.50  per  laying 
hen,  depending  largely  upon  the  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  poultry 
raiser. 

One  thousand  laying  hens  is  about  as  small  a  number  as  one  could  afford 
to  start  with  if  poultry  must  furnish  the  entire  living.  Wherever  possible  it  is 
best  for  the  beginner  lacking  experience  to  start  with  one  hundred  to  three 
hundred  hens  as  a  side  issue  until  sufficient  experience  is  obtained  to  justify 
breaking  loose  from  other  sources  of  income  and  devoting  all  his  efforts  to 
poultry  farming. 

With  one  acre  for  each  500  hens,  one  acre  for  the  growing  of  green  feed, 
one  acre  for  dwelling,  barn,  garden  and  the  rearing  of  young  stock  a  minimum 
of  four  acres  would  be  needed  for  a  1000-hen  farm.  If  a  cow  were  kept  and 
some  hay  raised  for  the  horse,  five  acres  would  prove  more  satisfactory. 

On  the  basis  of  an  investment  of  $5  per  hen,  a  1000-hen  plant  would  require 
a  total  capital  of  $5000,  of  which  about  $1500  would  go  into  land,  $2000  into 


78 

buildings,  including  living  quarters,  $1000  into  stock,  $200  into  equipment, 
$150  into  feed  and  supplies  and  $150  into  ready  cash.  The  investment  in  land 
will  vary  with  the  price  paid,  and  the  value  per  acre  for  poultry  will  be  subject 
to  favorableness  of  location  and  quality  of  soil.  A  location  within  a  very 
short  haul  of  a  high  class  poultry  and  egg  market  and  wholesale  feed  markets 
is  worth  more  than  another  where  the  hauls  would  be  greater  and  freight  and 
express  costs  higher. 

Land  used  for  poultry  farming  ranges  from  about  $100  to  more  than  $500 
per  acre  with  an  average  price  of  about  $300.  Ownership  predominates  over 
tenancy  among  poultrymen.  Suitable  poultry  farms  to  rent  are  not  very 
numerous  and  the  fact  that  so  many  buildings  are  needed  causes  poultry  raisers 
to  hesitate  to  build  on  rented  land.     They  prefer  to  own  the  land  they  build  on. 


BEEKEEPING 
By  E.  R.  deOng,  Instructor  in  Entomology 

Beekeeping  in  California  is  developing  into  a  profession  rather  than  a  side 
line  to  other  farming  enterprises.  Outbreaks  of  brood  diseases  in  recent  years 
have  reduced  the  number  of  small  holdings  materially  and  only  those  persisted 
who  could  and  would  give  enough  attention  to  the  subject  to  master  its  details. 
The  recent  advance  in  the  price  of  honey  has  stimulated  the  industry  greatly 
and  yet  the  increase  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  few. 

Extracted  honey  makes  up  the  bulk  of  the  product  of  the  state,  comb 
honey  being  produced  only  in  limited  quanitities  and  confined  largely  to 
regions  near  the  larger  towns,  where  the  local  market  conserves  the  output, 
excepting  the  large  comb-honey  district  in  Inyo  County. 

The  leading  honey  producing  regions  of  the  state  are  the  southern  Coast 
Range  beginning  in  Ventura  County  and  extending  south  into  San  Diego 
County,  Imperial  Valley,  the  plateau  region  of  southern  California,  extending 
from  east  San  Diego  County  into  Inyo  County,  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  and  the 
central  portion  of  the  Sacramento  Valley.  Other  regions  of  less  importance,  or 
at  least  not  so  highly  developed,  are  the  Coast  Range  from  Monterey  County 
north  into  Mendocino  County  and  the  foothill  regions  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains  from  Placer  County  south  to  Kern  County. 

Many  good  localities  for  the  beekeeper  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  state, 
particularly  in  the  northern  regions.  The  great  national  forests  are  largety 
unoccupied,  the  industry  being  largely  confined  to  farming  and  orchard  lands 
and  the  adjacent  hill  country,  while  thousands  of  acres  of  mountain  land  that 
every  year  are  producing  more  or  less  nectar,  remain  unused.  These  higher 
regions  may  never  produce  as  heavy  a  flow  of  nectar  as  the  sage  districts  in 
good  years,  but  on  account  of  a  heavier  rainfall  are  less  subject  to  fluctuations. 

The  value  of  the  bee  as  a  pollinizing  agent  for  the  orchard  is  also  beginning 
to  be  recognized  by  the  fruit  growers  and  now  many  of  them  are  offering 
special  inducements  to  the  beekeeper  to  locate  near  them  or  to  keep  the  bees 
near  the  orchard  in  the  blooming  season. 

Honey  producing  plants  of  California  are  of  two  types:  (1)  the  cultivated 
plant  or  tree  whose  moisture  supply  is  regulated  by  tillage  or  irrigation  and 
hence  yields  a  fairly  constant  supply  of  nectar,    (2)    native  vegetation,  depend- 


79 

ing  on  the  local  rainfall  for  its  supply  of  moisture  and  therefore  of  little  value 
in  dry  years.  The  first  group  includes  alfalfa,  beans,  orchard  trees  and  deco- 
rative plants.  Of  these  alfalfa  is  the  most  important  plant  for  the  great 
valleys,  yielding  nectar  from  June  until  late  in  the  summer.  In  southern 
California  the  citrus  fruits  and  beans  are  heavy  yielders.  The  second  group 
includes  the  sages,  of  which  there  are  a  number  of  species  in  the  southern 
Coast  Range,  blooming  at  different  seasons.  These  give  a  heavy  flow  of  nectar 
in  the  years  of  heavy  rainfall.  But  the  shrubs  as  well  as  the  annuals,  such 
as  ' '  filaree, ' '  blue  curls  and  bur  clover  are  alike  subject  to  failure  in  the  dry 
years  and  then  the  apiary  must  be  moved  to  another  location  or  fed  through 
the  season. 

Capital  invested  in  beekeeping  is  represented  almost  entirely  by  the  bees 
and  their  housing.  No  land  need  be  purchased,  or  at  least  but  one  or  two 
acres,  the  usual  practice  being  to  lease  one-quarter  to  one-half  an  acre  of  land 
in  the  desired  locality.  This  is  ample  room  for  two  or  three  hundred  colonies. 
In  addition  to  the  bees  and  the  hives  with  extra  bodies,  a  honey  extractor, 
empty  honey  containers  and  a  few  small  pieces  of  apparatus  and  tools  are 
needed.  At  present  a  colony  of  bees,  including  the  hive,  sells  for  from  ten  to 
fifteen  dollars,  owing  to  the  strain  of  bees  and  their  strength  and  condition. 
The  demand  in  the  last  two  years  has  been  so  great  that  even  at  this  price 
they  are  difficult  to  buy.  Swarms  of  bees  can  sometimes  be  caught  along 
timber  and  in  this  way  a  start  secured  with  very  little  capital. 

An  experienced  beekeeper  can  care  for  three  or  four  hundred  colonies  with 
an  extra  helper  during  the  busiest  season.  The  total  investment  for  an  apiary 
of  four  hundred  colonies  would  be  from  $4000  to  $5000.  To  handle  this  number 
would  require  one  helper  for  three  or  four  months  at  $50  to  $75  per  month, 
including  board  and  room.  Work  of  this  type  is  extremely  valuable  for  the 
beginner  who  desires  to  learn  the  beekeeping  business  or  determine  for  himself 
his  fitness  for  such  work. 

If  the  beekeeper  desires  to  increase  his  holdings  it  is  possible  each  year  to 
divide  the  stronger  colonies  without  materially  affecting  the  yield  of  honey 
for  the  year,  dependent  upon  the  locality  and  the  season. 

The  average  yield  of  extracted  honey  for  California  is  given  by  the  Year 
Book  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  at  seventy  pounds  per  colony.  Con- 
sidering 20  cents  per  pound  a  good  price  for  the  fall  of  1918,  this  would  mean 
a  gross  income  of  $14  per  colony,  which  would  be  equal  to  the  original  cost. 
This  price,  however,  is  excessive,  the  average  for  recent  years,  as  given  in  the 
Year  Book,  is  7  cents.  But  when  lower  prices  on  honey  are  prevailing,  the 
cost  of  bees  is  less  so  that  in  the  hands  of  an  experienced  beekeeper  there  is 
the  possibility  of  a  gross  annual  income  equal  to  the  original  investment. 

There  is  a  cooperative  marketing  association  of  beekeepers  now  established 
in  the  state  which  controls  the  major  part  of  the  product  thus  stabilizing  the 
market. 


CLIMATIC  CONDITIONS  OF  CALIFORNIA 
(From  the  standpoint  of  crop  production) 

1.  Northwest  Coast  Eegion. 

2.  Central  Coast  Eegion. 

3.  Southern  Coast  Eegion. 

4.  Interior  Valley  Eegion. 

5.  Mountain  Plateau  Eegion. 


